This Is For Real
by snowprince808
Summary: Hermione's muggle boyfriend broke up with her when he learns she's a witch. Will several encounters with Draco Malfoy at Hogwarts mend her broken heart?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter1**

She could still remember clearly how Timothy reacted when he found out she could do magic;

"What? You're a…a a witch? Y y…you could do magic… real magic?" his face was paper white and confused, he was backing away from her "you're a freak Hermione!" he yelled "how could you lie to me? I don't know you at all!"

"No, Tom just…"she started but he cut across her.

"Are you trying to tell me witches exist?"

"Yes they do, but you've really got to listen to me" she tried again.

"No! You listen to me you freak!" he yelled once more "This is over, way over!" And with that, he left her standing in front of their favorite "spot". She tried to follow him to explain her self once more but he just refused to listen to her. After days of trying, she finally gave up and returned to Hogwarts for her seventh & last year there.

She had told Harry, Ron & Ginny everything that happened between her and Timothy Grey, the guy she's been telling them about since sixth year.

"See?" Ron said to her "I told you Muggles are jerks! Look at what that fool Tom did to you? He broke your heart!"

"Ron, Hermione is a Muggle" Ginny reminded him.

"Sorry, what I meant was Muggles in general, who refuses to accept the fact that witches and wizards like us actually exists!"

"Ron had a point there. Maybe you should focus your attention on something else like... your studies or whatever as long it's not him" Ginny suggested.

"And you'll always have us for support and anything else that you need. You can count on us" Harry guaranteed her.

"I know and…… thanks you guys, all of you" she smiled weakly "thanks".

She was sitting alone on the window at the top of the Astronomy tower thinking about the things that happened to her lately. She was having flashbacks of her sad and happy memories.

A week ago, Draco Malfoy & his Slytherin friends humiliated her infront of the whole school.

Harry & Ron tried to protect her and was about to jinx him, but she stopped them. She didn't want them to get in trouble especially when Snape finds out they jinxed his favorite student.

She remembered Malfoy's exact words; "_How can you come back here every year, when you know there's no room for Mudbloods in this school? Is your face really that thick?"_

She wanted badly to slap him as hard as she could, till his face cracked, her hand was itching to do it but she stopped herself because she knew it'll bring her nothing good.

"_You're an eyesore!"_ he added and all his friends laughed. His face showed pure disgust and loathing towards her. And she hated him back; she despises him for being such an arrogant bastard just like his father, Lucius Malfoy.

He was one of the worst persons she ever met since Voldemort was the first although she haven't really met him in person and based on Harry's description; she has no plans on meeting him in the future. Never.

She promised her self that she will never let Malfoy get to her nerves this school year, so she just avoided him as much as possible and answering him back reasonably from time to time making sure he's left tongue-tied.

She stared at the ground beneath her, there were some first years playing & running around, they look so innocent, she thought.

Then for some reason, tears started falling from her eyes, blurring her vision a bit.

She wondered if it was because of Timothy that she started to cry or Malfoy but she was quite sure it's not him so she settled for Tom as the reason for her tears. She looked down again, the first years were gone from the ground was empty. She wanted to end her pain, the pain Timothy & Malfoy gave her, she knew Harry guaranteed her that she can always count on them but it just wasn't enough. There was a part of her that wanted to jump out of the window but she figured it won't stop her pain either.

Why take your life when there's so much more to life than Timothy: the guy who broke your heart and won't accept you for who you really are? And Malfoy: the bastard who insults you and your friends? No, it's totally stupid to take your own life just because these two jerks caused you so much pain. Besides, its their loss for not knowing what she's worth and hurting her like that, it was their own problem. Period.

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"Darn it" he cursed under his breath "Now, where the hell am I gonna hide? Stupid old Filch shouldn't have locked all those old classrooms". He's been running for the past 20 minutes and he could feel his legs starting to give up. "Darn it" he hissed to himself, now his only choice was to hide up in the Astronomy tower since it was the nearest place to him and his legs would collapse if he tries to run all the way back to the Slytherin tower. He ran up the stairs to the top of the Astronomy tower, slowing down a bit as he reached the door to the top wrenching it open.

She heard someone open the door behind her so she dried her tears quickly w/ her palms. "Who's there?" she asked her voice shaky.

As he opened the door, he entered quickly not noticing anyone at first until he heard a voice.

"Who's there?" he heard a low and shaky voice which sounded a bit familiar to him. He was gasping for breath so he didn't reply immediately.

***

"Who's there?" she asked again turning to face whoever entered, when no one replied.

The second time he heard the voice he knew exactly to whom it belonged; HERMIONE GRANGER a.k.a. Mudblood and true enough, he was right. He saw her turn from the window where she was seated he was shocked to see her seated on the window. Of all the corners of the room, why is she seating on the window? Has she gone insane? But of course he didn't show a trace of shock on his face.

The moment she turned and saw who entered, she froze, what's he doing here? she thought. Why of all places in this castle is he here?

"Just what the hell are you doing?" he asked demandingly, closing the door.

"What else does it look like?" she snapped

"Nothing special, you just look like you're about to jump out of that window" he yawned to show he's bored.

"And what made you think I'll jump out of this window?" she sneered

"Uh-uh! You're wrong, I wasn't THINKING I was more like HOPING" he shook his head slowly. There was a certain malice in his voice.

"Well don't get your hopes too high since I'm not jumping"

"You're not? Oh well, I guess that's better cause if you do jump, you'll only stain the ground with that filthy blood of yours. Of course I wouldn't want that to happen"

"As if your blood won't" she mumbled more to herself.

"Pardon?"

"I didn't say anything"

"Filthy Mudblood"

"I don't care whatever you call me" she glared at him.

"Yeah right, that's new" he smirked

"What can I say? After 6 years of hearing such words from you, you honestly think I'd still be affected?" she laughed a little

"They're not words, they are insults Granger, insults!" he said as if reminding her something really important.

"They're just words to me since they don't mean anything to me, at all" she said flatly

"I don't care either if, those words, as you call them, affects you or not, I don't care or give a damn about you"

"The feeling is mutual" she snapped "I actually almost forgot you existed until you barged in here" her tone was so sarcastic that Draco couldn't stop glaring at her. How can she come up with such retorts? He asked his self, not that he was amazed, mind you but it was…something.

"I didn't know a Mudblood was here planning to take her own life" he took 2 steps towards her still smirking.

She rolled her eyes at his comment. It was clear he didn't have anything better to say than that.

"Life's too short, Malfoy, so you better treasure every moment of it, have fun while it lasts cause life's too… good- aaaaaahhh!!!!!!!!"

"Hey, what the??????" he ran towards the window where she was sitting and saw her hanging, trying to hold on to the frames with her eyes tightly closed. She didn't even bother to call for help. Without thinking twice, he reached out to her, caught her hands and helped her up from the window. He pulled her with his strong arms until she was back on her feet.

After pulling her up, they both fell silent not knowing what to say. They stared at each other without a word. Then he turned his back from her, while Hermione bit her lip, her fists clenched tightly. She was sweating all over, feeling ashamed of what happened.

Draco had no idea why he reacted that way, he didn't even think about his actions and just helped her up immediately. It was weird helping her just like that, he should've at least let her beg him for help because that's what the usual Draco Malfoy would do.

He was able to recover with what happened quickly. So, he decided to make a comment just to break the awkward silence that fell between them. And partly to make her see how stupid she was, lecturing him about treasuring life & every moment of it when she's the one who almost fell from the window and if it wasn't for him she'll be dead by now.

"As you were saying, Granger?" he raised one eyebrow at her, a smirk settled on his face.

"You helped me!" was all she could say, her face flushed, staring dumbly at his back. Good thing he wasn't facing her or else it would've been a great opportunity to throw more insults at her. He stared at her in confusion, what the heck is she saying? , he thought. "No not exactly. If you remember what I said earlier, I told you I don't want your muddy blood staining the ground, didn't I?" he said glad to have a reason for saving her.

"Whatever! You still helped me so I guess I need to say thanks even if it's to…you" her voice was low.

"It's alright at least I saved the school" he suddenly heard his self saying.

"From what?" she asked and he faced her. She couldn't describe the expression on his face, he looked odd.

"Your blood" he simply shrugged w/ both of his hands inside the pocket of his pants "And the scene you'd create after jumping, your blood would be scattered all over you then your brains and insides would be sticking out one by one. It'd be really bloody and since you're dead, you'll be joining Moaning Myrtle in the bathrooms" she noticed that his voice sounded funny, a bit high pitched and it's like as if he wasn't fully aware what he's been saying. The bastard awhile ago was gone.

Hermione stared at him with great disgust, her hands over her mouth, she felt like throwing up anytime soon if he didn't stop. "Describing deaths like that are Muggle stuff"

"No, it's not!" he snapped glaring at her like an idiot "There are wizards who does that!" he insisted but she couldn't think of any wizards who likes gore or anything like that. Even Voldemort doesn't leave his murder victims with their insides sticking out, she thought. So she just kept quiet. She didn't know he had secret passion for gory stuff, she smirked to her self.

"Anyway" he continued "killing yourself like that is very Muggle-ish. Only stupid people would do that. There's always a better way to take your own life, you know, like…… using Avada Kedavra or any other dark spells" he pointed out conversationally.

"But you said I'm a filthy Mudblood" she reminded him rolling her eyes.

"Yeah you are, but considering that you've been studying here for almost 7 years… and learned a lot of spells, you're really gonna jump out of that window?" he asked her. Before she could answer him, he spoke again "I know it's what those filthy Muggles do… wait, I was wrong… it's what YOU filthy Muggles do" his voice was back to normal.

She didn't speak immediately, she was finding their "little conversation" weird, talking about how she'd want to kill her self IS weird. Who on earth would want to talk to one of their most hated persons about how they'll kill their selves? Not to mention the topic itself which is SUICIDE!!!

"Look, I told you I'm not going to kill myself, Malfoy, so stop it" she told him. He stopped talking and shrugged.

"Do you really hate me that much?" she wanted to know but he just shrugged again. "Er… I'll take that as a yes" she mumbled "Why are you here, anyway?"

"Uh… me? I… I was just getting rid of some pests. That's all" he replied checking the door if it was locked well "You see, this was the nearest place to hide" he added.

She was standing near the window while he sat across the door on the floor, they were both silent again. Hermione stared outside the window, remembering the times she and Tom spent together. He was so cool and everything she wanted in a guy was in him, he was perfect in her opinion. He had dark brown hair, bluish green eyes and 5 ft 10 in height. He was also romantic, so far, he was the best guy she ever dated. Timothy Grey was really hard to forget, even if she knew that thinking about him wouldn't bring her any good because it'd only be harder for her to forget him. Ginny once told her that what she really needs, is a guy who would accept her for who she really is and understand her. She wondered how Tom feels towards her at that very moment, Is he still mad or what? Maybe he moved on already. Then she had a flashback again, lately her flashbacks were happening a lot and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

"_Hermione, you should learn how to skateboard" he said_

"_But Tom, I'm not fond of those" she told him_

"_Just try it once please? I'll help you so you won't get hurt. I'll be holding your hands" Timothy assured her._

"_Fine" she smiled and stepped on the skateboard. It was a Saturday morning and they were in a park just a few blocks away from his house. He taught her how to maneuver the board and after 30 minutes, she was skating like an expert already. She asked him if she could try to skate w/ out him holding her hand and because he saw how excited she was, he agreed. She was skating smoothly for 8 meters already when she lost her balance and slipped. Everything happened so fast but Tom caught her just in time. As he promised, he caught her; she was just ten inches away from the ground._ She asked her self if he really did love her, because if he did, then he should've been able to accept the fact that she's a witch. But no, he ran away from her and refused to listen to a word she said. Then she heard some loud banging on the door behind her and she was back to reality.

She looked around and saw Draco Malfoy staring at the door horrified, she almost forgot that she's at the top of the Astronomy Tower w/ him. The loud banging continued, he motioned her to keep quiet so she decided to cast a silencing charm Harry taught her "Muffliato" she whispered pointing her wand at the door.

"Who the hell is that?" she asked him

"I don't know… it's probably them" he replied anxiously looking at the four corners of the room, the ceiling, walls and at the floor. Then he ran over to the window to make sure no one climbed there.

"Them?" she repeated confusedly.

"Yes, the pests I told you who were after me"

"But how do we get out?"

"We'll just have to wait till they leave"

"What?! Wait till they leave? Are you crazy? What if they don't leave?" she yelled, alarmed at the idea of being stuck up there.

"You don't have any choice unless you jump out of that window!" he snapped pointing over to the huge window where she almost fell. Hermione glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. How can he be so unreasonable? , she thought but he was right, she had no choice. She listened to the door closely, the banging didn't stop then someone spoke.

"Draco? Are you there? Will you please open the door?" it was a girl's voice "Please come out we just want you to see something" another the girl pleaded.

She stared at him w/ one brow arched, arms still crossed over her chest and tapping her right foot on the floor. She was waiting for him to say something to explain his self.

"So the pests you were referring to was a bunch of girls" she remarked half grinning to herself.

He turned to face her, his eyes narrowing at her "They're not just a bunch of girls, you know."

"Oh yeah? What kind of girls are they then?" she smirked.

"Draco? We've been looking all over for you! It's been 40 minutes already!" a third girl spoke

"Those girls are very dangerous if I might say so myself"

"How dangerous? And…… how many are they?" she pressed

"I don't know! I haven't tried what they can do that's why I need to hide from them. All I know is they're very dangerous" he said his eyes at the door "I think they're around 5 or more"

"We just want you to taste the cake we baked for you and drink this special juice we have for you" the first girl said and everyone outside agreed.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh "They seem harmless to me."

"You have no idea" he rolled his eyes thinking if he should explain everything to her. But how? He didn't even know where and how to start his explanation for everything that's happening.

"So what exactly do they want from you?" she questioned.

Then he had a brilliant idea on how to start without being embarrassed at all. "You see, I'm the hottest and most handsome guy Hogwarts ever had and obviously these girls just can't resist me so they want me to taste all those things they have in their arms to make me fall in love with them. And because I know very well they mixed love potions with it, I ran away from them." He explained with a smirk settled on his face.

"Whatever!" she snorted

"It's actually all that old Filch's fault why I'm here if only he didn't lock all those classrooms then I would've hidden in one of those" he continued.

"It was a direct order from the Headmaster himself to lock all the rooms when not used" she told him.

"I don't care whoever told him to do it" he glared at her.

"Anyway, back to those girls, aren't you going to do anything about them?" she asked expecting that he already thought of a plan.

"What about them? I already said I don't want to go out and eat all their cakes then drink that so called juice which looked like butterbeer and firewhiskey mixed together. Do you have any idea how awful it was out there?" he asked pointing at the door, the banging hadn't stopped yet and the girls were talking to each other loudly.

"Besides, haven't you heard about Zabini? He was hospitalized two weeks ago" he went on "But he's okay now"

"Yeah… I heard about that… it happened to my friends too" she said understandingly, nodding her head in agreement "What if I go out and tell them you're not here then if they don't believe and try to come in, you go and climb the roof thru that window?" she suggested

"You can't be serious" he said in a low voice

"You're right I wasn't". The silencing charm was wearing off already so they were just speaking in low voices.

"Fine, we'll wait till they leave" he sighed heavily and Hermione agreed since she really had no choice. Fifteen more minutes passed and the girls figured out that maybe no one was really there so they left.

The two pressed their ears against the door trying to listen if the girls really left already and when they didn't hear any sound, they were both relieved. She opened the door to check, no one was outside.

"Are you sure their gone?" he asked

"Duh! I looked outside didn't I?"

"Okay great…… now, about what happened…" he started but before he could finish what he was saying, she interrupted him. "Let's make this clear, none of this ever happened and no one should know except for a friend or two who will promise not to tell anyone about it. Ok?"

"Yeah" he nodded and headed out first. When he got out, he went straight for the Slytherin tower and directly to the boy's dormitory. He didn't meet the girls who were after him a while ago and pushed all the students ahead of him out of his way instead.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter2**

She left the Astronomy Tower 10minutes after he left, she was lucky no one saw her. She headed for the library to do some researching for the Defense Against the Dark Arts even if it was a Saturday. She pushed the door open and scanned the room just like what she always does before doing her business there. Then she saw Ron sitting on one of the tables, he wasn't studying and was just looking around and obviously, he hadn't seen her yet. So, she started to walk towards him.

"Oi, Hermione! We've been looking for you!" he exclaimed

"We?" she peered behind him but no one was there "Who?"

"Harry and me." he replied

"Oh yeah I was kinda busy…"

"Studying again?" he wrinkled his nose as if disgusted.

"No, not exactly… I was um… researching for the Dark Arts"

"Dark Arts? Oh you mean DADA?"

"Yep that's it"

"Anyway, Harry told me to hang around here cause I might see you and now that you're here…we need to see him" he explained as he stood up and started to drag her heading for the exit. Some of the students stared at them.

"But Ron…"

"You can do that some other time. First, we have to go to the common room. Harry's there w/ Ginny"

"Okay but you don't really have to drag me" she muttered

"Oh right sorry" he said letting go of her hand quickly.

They walked in silence, he was leading the way then she noticed that they were not in the right direction to the Gryffindor Tower and was walking through an unfamiliar hallway instead. "Er… Ron we're going the wrong way"

"No we're not"

"But you said we're going to the common room"

"Just follow me" he turned giving her a mysterious smile which only intrigued her.

"If you say so" she mumbled staring at the floor the only sound she could hear was their footsteps.

After a few minutes of walking, they finally stopped in front of a huge oak door, he pushed the door and stepped inside "Ahh we're here!" he stretched his arms then she followed him inside and saw Harry & Ginny sitting on one of the chairs scattered around the room. She looked around carefully, the room seemed to be an old classroom although she had no idea when it was last used.

"Hey, wazzup?" they gave a small nod in their direction.

"I found her at the library" Ron told them and they laughed a little. She wondered what their "little laugh" meant, maybe it was one of the private jokes they made every time one of them found her at the library studying or borrowing books.

"What's going on?" she asked still scanning the room.

"We… are here to celebrate" Harry announced beaming from ear to ear, she could also see his eyes smiling behind his glasses.

"Pardon?" she blinked "What for?"

"Well… I still get to be an Auror!" he exclaimed proudly.

"WOW!" she collapsed on the chair behind her "How?" she managed to ask "I…I thought you didn't make the grade?"

"Yeah I thought so too but Professor Dumbledore talked to me this morning and he told me the news!" he couldn't take the smile off his face and his hair was all ruffled.

"That's really great" she grinned, standing up from her chair to give him a hug. Then Ron started to bring out some bottles of butterbeer from under the table in the front, which seemed to be a teacher's table before but now, it was all dusty and ancient looking. He distributed the bottles to each of them and left the three others in the box underneath the table.

She opened the bottle and was about to drink when she remembered to ask Ron where he got the drinks cause Filch has been checking every student for banned products and butterbeer was one of them. Of course unless it was a professor who brought the drinks in… she also reminded them that she and Ron were prefects and should set a good example to everyone. But they told her it was just them inside the room and no one else and also it was Professor Dumbledore who gave Harry the butterbeers because he knew Harry would celebrate with his best friends.

"Yeah ok but… we have to be careful" she warned them.

"Hermione, it's just us here!" Ginny said rolling her eyes "Harry made sure no one goes here" she tucked her hair behind her ear, laughing a bit at how Hermione was being sort of a paranoid about the whole thing.

"So… cheers!" Ron exclaimed raising his bottle in the air then everyone gathered around and did the same as Ron "cheers!" they all chorused "to good health!" they added.

They started talking about their plans after Hogwarts since it was already definite that Harry would be an Auror although Ron wasn't sure what he really wanted to be. Everyone was expecting that he'll follow Harry's footsteps because they're best friends and Ron has been following Harry around since the day they met. Hermione, on the other hand, was qualified for almost all the jobs because of her high grades but she wasn't sure if she'll ever get the chance to work in the Wizarding world since her dad wanted her to go to college and work for their family business. And Ginny, wanted to be a Healer so she's working really hard to make the grade. Good thing Hermione is there to help her from time to time.

They drank and laughed at each other's "fiascos" with Snape for the past few days then Hermione suddenly fell quiet.

"What's wrong?" they asked her.

She stared at each of them wanting to tell them what happened to her up in the Astronomy tower just a few moments ago. But she was a bit worried about how they would react, because to her, it was just something laughable. From the way he insulted her and teased her about committing suicide. They raised their brows prompting her to tell them whatever it was that she had to tell them.

She took a deep breath and decided to tell them, they're her only friends after all. So she started her adventure (or misadventure rather) which she proudly entitled: An awful hour with Malfoy. It was the only title she could think of since she wasn't really good at titles, though no one really knew that!

"You know, before Ron found me at the library… I was on the top of the Astronomy Tower" she said. They were watching her and didn't make any harsh comment so she told them the whole story. "And then he caught me and helped me back up then there were girls banging on the door which he locked. Apparently, the thing that happened to Harry last year happened to him!" she told them and added "Remember Romilda Vane?" because they seemed lost with her story.

"Oh yeah her…" Ron trailed off, a bitter expression on his face. He would never forget the girl who almost killed him.

"So you two fought?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Um yeah, he was calling me a Mudblood but I told him I don't care whatever he calls me which is true" she took a sip of her butterbeer "I've decided not to give a damn about him"

"That's right! He always thought his words could affect everyone around him" Harry smirked.

"And he's been like that since our first year… so I guess we just got used to him, I mean… what can you expect from him?" said Ron shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah and he actually thought I did that on purpose! He thought I wanted to jump out of that window, as if I have reason to do that!" she said annoyed "Do you think I have a reason to do that?" she asked them.

"No!" they said quickly but deep inside them, they doubted their answer. They knew Hermione was hurt with her break up with that Muggle, but they had no idea how much. So they were really worried that she'd be considering taking her own life one of these days. But they should know her better. She'd never do that even if she does think about it sometimes and decided to never ever consider it again.

"Right, its good you guys know I would never do that" she smiled a little "Anyway, he also suggested some ways I could kill myself without jumping out of that window…"

"What!" Ron yelled "He did that? He wanted you to die? Where's that arrogant creature?!" he demanded angrily, he knew Draco hated them but how could he say those things to Hermione? He couldn't let that one go! He turned to face Harry who was quietly staring at Hermione.

"It was nothing to me" she convinced Ron "He also described how I'd look like if I did jump out of that window, like… my brains and insides would be sticking out!?! It was just so disgusting! Oh, and he uh insisted that there are wizards who likes gory stuff!" she shook her head laughing "I couldn't think of any wizard who likes gore in that kind of sense so I didn't comment on it"

"What? He really said that?" the three asked together, shocked "He's weird!"

"Yep" she nodded, confirming everything she just said about Malfoy "I know it's so…… so not like him"

"Well, I don't think we should be talking about him and whatever it is that's happening to him. We're celebrating here! Though I must say… I think he's going crazy" Ginny stated dropping her voice into a whisper when she said the word "crazy".

Harry, Hermione and Ron laughed at what she said, "Cheers" they chorused once more. And they went back to talking about their plans for their future.

"So, what job do you want exactly? Of course if you were to choose." They asked Hermione.

"I haven't given that much thought lately…… I guess I still have no idea" she shrugged sadly. They were all of a sudden serious.

"But if you work there you'll have a big chance of accidentally bumping into him… that'd be bad for you" Harry reasoned out.

"Yeah I know" she trailed off with out looking at either of them. Harry had a point there, she knew he was just being concerned but she also didn't want to let her father down, she was so confused. She's been thinking about considering some jobs like being a pre-school teacher or to write for a teen magazine but deep down inside her, she knew she didn't want any of those jobs. All she really wanted was to stay connected to the Wizarding world and work there because it's what she enjoys the most. Maybe the job of an Auror would suit her fine or in the Ministry in the area of the research for the unsolved cases even a writer for The Prophet would do. But NOT someone like Rita Skeeter who's been getting a lot of complaint lately because of the way she twists what other people says.

"Hey, we've been here for almost an hour already!" Ginny announced "We'd better get going because we might be late for dinner". And everyone stood up, ready to leave. But Hermione told them they should clean up their mess first to make sure no one would see it. Then Ron suggested calling Dobby instead and Harry agreed. They were shocked when Hermione didn't even argue w/ them about the rights of house-elves. She just sat on a chair near the door, quietly and mumbled "OK".

"Dobby" Harry called and the elf appeared "I need you to clean up this mess. It's not really that messy, as you can see. Just make sure no one finds out about this, understand?"

"Yes Harry Potter" the elf nodded and they headed out. Hermione was still quiet so Harry walked beside her while Ron and Ginny was just a step or two before them.

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"So, did you find any valuable information regarding those girls?" Draco asked a sixth year boy who's also a Slytherin. It's been a few hours since he hired the boy to investigate about those girls who were after him earlier. He felt that he needed to know their identities immediately so he could at least do something about them. Something that would make them stop, like… threaten their lives or use his father's connections to scare them away. For sure they'd be scared when Fenrir Greyback's name gets mentioned. Now, that would surely make them stop from stalking him. He hates the way girls like them think like they know him already when in fact the Draco they think he is, is just a fantasy they themselves created. They created it because they're so desperate to know him and that is one thing he'll never allow them to do. He also hates people who don't give a damn about him or at least his status, being a Malfoy, one of the richest and most influential family in their world. And it's one of the reasons why he hated Hermione and her friends so much. He remembered what she said when he last insulted her; _"I don't care whatever you call me"_ she was glaring at him and it was obvious she hated him back.

"Um… Mr. Malfoy, did you hear me?" the boy asked. He realized he didn't hear a word the boy reported to him.

"I uh did not. What was that again?"

"One of them is from Ravenclaw and the rest are from Hufflepuff. But I haven't gotten their names yet" the boy reported again. "Ok, that's alright for now. Here this is 20 Galleons" he handed a pouch bag to the sixth year who thanked him and promised to report again soon.

"Whoa! Wasn't that too much for him?" Blaise said from behind him "You're actually spending that much just to know who those girls are?" he walked up to his friend.

"I am willing to spend even more than that, I don't want them dogging me around the whole school" Draco replied.

"If that's what you want" he shrugged and left.

Draco stared at one of the paintings hung on the wall by the stairs which lead to the Great Hall, he was about to go there for dinner. Then the little man on the painting stared back at him and started shouting "What are you looking at? You little B******!" it yelled at him with reddish eyes. He just smirked, continuing to go down the stairs. He was used to cursing paintings.

The Great Hall wasn't full yet when he entered, he sat down in front of Crabbe and Goyle. Pansy was talking to some of her girl friends while Blaise was fooling around with some girl he didn't know. He wondered how his friend got there so fast. He reached for the bread on his left then the sliced ham on his right, he stared at his plate. He didn't really feel like eating. He looked around again and spotted Hermione enter with her friends, Harry and the two Weasleys. Harry was assisting her as if she couldn't do things on her own. He stared back at his plate again, ate a little and left. The appetite he had left disappeared when they entered, for some unknown reason.

"Hermione" Harry called over his shoulder "May I borrow your ink?"

"Yeah, me too" Ron added.

"Ok, just get it from Ginny. She borrowed it too" Hermione replied "Wow everyone has run out of inks, huh?"

"Well, you should blame the professors" Ginny mumbled bitterly "They're the ones who gave us all these paper works"

They were the only ones in the common room; most of the students were either in their rooms or still in the library which was already open 24hours a day.

"They've become merciless" Ron agreed who in spite of the cold weather, was sweating by just looking at the list of the essays and other assignments he has to do. Hermione laughed at Ron's comment and sat beside Ginny again. She was just finishing the last paragraph of her essay for DADA.

After a few minutes, Hermione stood up stretching her arms "Harry? Are you done with the essay for DADA?" she asked.

"I finished that one first" he replied. "I just need to get this one done and I'm free to rest. Snape has been giving me extra hard time lately" his voice was weary.

"Here have my tea" she gave him her mug of hot tea "The ink is all yours I have another one anyway… I feel sleepy so goodnight" she yawned, patting Ron on his shoulder as she passed behind him then headed for the stairs straight to the room she shares with the other girls in her year.

Ron stared at his assignments sadly, not knowing how he'll be able to finish them. Harry was starting to pack his things up already and Ginny was stretching her back.

Harry noticed Ron and asked him what's wrong and he told him. Harry along with Ginny decided to help him a bit.

Hermione woke up early the next day. She thought she saw Timothy sitting at the foot of her bed but realized she was wrong after rubbing her eyes. "What's happening to me? Am I that lovesick?" she slapped her forehead then covered her face with both of her hands "Stop thinking about Tom!" she hissed "Just stop!" she grabbed her towel from her bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

It was a Sunday and all her essays were done so she decided to spend the whole day relaxing. She came down after showering for an early breakfast and saw Harry seated near the fireplace scribbling something on a piece of parchment.

"Hey, you're up so early?!" she approached him.

"Oh hi, yeah I made it a point to wake-up early today" he said without looking up at her.

"What are you doing?"

"Writing a letter to Lupin, I heard he's staying at the Grimmauld Place."

"Oh… so did you have breakfast already?"

"Not yet… you can wait for me if you want though"

"Sure! Is Ron up?"

"Him? Since when does HE wake up early on Sundays?" Harry smirked

"Right…" she mumbled with a nod looking away from Harry.

She hasn't forgotten what she saw when she woke up that morning; Tom's face was just so clear in her memory and she hated her self for that.

Harry had just finished writing and rolled the parchment tying it with a brown ribbon. "I'm done. C'mon." he said then Hermione stood up to follow him. They headed for the Owlery together to find Hedwig. They made a left turn to a corridor making sure Peeves wasn't there. The morning was too nice to be bothered by that pesky ghost.

"So how are you?" he asked her

"I'm fine. What made you ask?" she turned to him

It took him a few minutes before answering her question because he wasn't sure what her reaction would be.

"Harry?" she snapped her fingers in front of his face

"I um sorry I just…" he was about to explain but she continued to talk so he listened.

"You're worried aren't you?" she guessed "You don't have to although I'm not perfectly fine" she laughed nervously then dramatically turned to face Harry "I actually think I'm turning into one of those stupid lovesick women I've been seeing in the movies"

"Wait, love-what?" he asked confusedly with furrowed brows

"Love sick. When I woke up this morning, I saw him sitting on the foot of my bed. I'm hallucinating! I might be insane already" she pointed out but Harry just smirked at her and continued to walk.

"A smirk? And I really thought you were worried about me!" she ran to catch up with him

"I am worried about you. But I think you ARE perfectly fine. Just go to madam Pomfrey and ask her if we should be getting a ward for you at St. Mungo's" he joked

"Pardon?" she demanded "What a good friend you are HARRY POTTER!"

Harry laughed and they headed for the owlery to send his letter for Lupin then proceeded to the Great Hall to have their breakfast. After breakfast, Hagrid invited them over to his home to help him feed Buckbeak the hippogriff. It was Harry who fed Buckbeak since Hermione was still a bit scared of the creature.

By the time they returned to the Gryffindor common room, it was almost lunch time and Ron was awake already. So the three of them headed for the Great Hall and spent time finishing some of their reading for Transfiguration while Hermione spent all her time in her bed, reading some Muggle novels. The two boys including her roommates and Ginny, was so hocked to see her NOT studying for any of her lessons.

On Wednesday afternoon, they were heading for the Defense Against the Dark Arts dungeon w/c was moved to the afternoon for that particular day. Ron couldn't stand the way Hermione has been acting lately so he spoke up "Hermione?"

"Hmm?" she turned to her left where Ron was standing

"You… you have changed" he told her in a low voice, scared that she might react harshly.

"Really? How?" she laughed anxiously

"Well…" Harry started "You didn't raise your hands much this morning during Transfiguration" he pointed out "And also during History of Magic"

She just stared at Harry not knowing how to answer her friends with their observations on her actions lately. She herself didn't notice her actions until they told her about it and it made her hate herself more. It only proved how much she was affected with the break-up and how weak she really is. They continued to walk until they reached the dungeon w/c was only half full. A lot of Slytherins were still missing including Draco. They took their usual seat in the front row and waited for the other students.

----------

Draco spent most of the week knowing the identities of the girls who were running after him and was able to find some useful information. He was walking along the corridor where Blaise always hung out, to tell him everything he found out. But found no one there and ran into Pansy instead.

"Oh, hi Draco!" she greeted him cheerfully. Ever since they were young she had always been cheerful towards her friends like him and Zabini although Crabbe and Goyle were different cases.

"Have you seen Zabini?" he asked casually.

"No. Are you gonna have one of your snogging sessions?" she asked then laughed at him "It was just a joke" she told him.

His face was still a bit stony even if she told him it was just a joke. He couldn't imagine himself snogging his best friend.

"He might be at the snogging lounge though with that girl the other week" she called back before turning to a corner. He walked away sulkily returning to his room to wait until Blaise arrives. He wanted his best friend to be the first to know about everything he found out, he knew Parkinson can never be trusted with such secrets or else the news about those girls would be around the whole castle for less than an hour. He couldn't tell Crabbe or Goyle either because they have been extra senseless for the past few days.

He had almost forgotten about his encounter with Hermione at the top of the Astronomy Tower earlier and their "little conversation". Being finally alone and his mind clear from the thoughts of the group of girls he called "The Pests", gave him a chance to think about the scene he saw up there and their exchange of words. He entered his room and sat on his bed reaching for one of his text books on the table beside his bed. He was just too busy and more interested in finding out who those girls were and planning how to get rid of them, he didn't even have much time for his studies. He flipped some of the pages but closed it eventually. He wasn't really concerned with his grades he just wanted to catch up with some reading just in case Professor McGonagall or some other teacher throws him a question regarding their lesson. Not as if he became like one those grade-conscious freaks in his class… he just hated being humiliated. Especially in front of his class where people like Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and other people he disgusts are watching. He knew we won't have much problem with Snape even if he didn't study much although McGonagall would most likely warn him same with the other teachers. He was about to fall asleep when Blaise finally arrived.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing….

**Chapter3**

"Oh hey, you're not yet asleep? Parkinson told me you were looking for me" he said sitting at the foot of Draco's bed.

"Yeah I was" he gave a nod sitting up straight "I wanted to tell you what I found out about The Pests"

"Interesting. So what is it?" he asked eagerly.

"Well, first of all, they're cousins except for this girl named Dianne Bottle who came from Ireland" he started

"Ireland? Her name doesn't sound Irish at all"

"I know but that's where she came from. The other 6 are from New Zealand; Nica, Violette, Juliett, MJ, Ingrid & Katie Walters" he said then yawned.

"What house did they come from?"

"The 6 came from Hufflepuff and that Irish girl came from Ravenclaw"

"And what do you plan to do now?"

Draco just shrugged, he haven't decided what he shall do although he already have lots of idea. He just hasn't chosen yet. He also wanted more suggestions from Blaise.

"What if you just tell them you like someone already? Only don't give names cause you might get in trouble" he advised.

"That's lame. I actually wanted to scare them with Greyback's name but…… what if I use Pansy's name?"

Blaise covered his mouth to keep himself from laughing "You're gonna use her name instead of Greyback's?"

"NO! That's not what I meant you idiot! I mean your suggestion! I was referring to it!" he snapped, irritated with his friend's lack of helpfulness at his situation which he claimed to be so "crucial".

"So you actually think it's worth giving a try? Well, Pansy seems to be a decent excuse unless you'd like to use Granger's name instead" he chuckled but stopped immediately as Draco threw him some dagger looks.

"And why would I want to do that?" he sneered not really requiring an answer from the other "I'll just tell them I like someone and let them guess" he finally decided thinking it'd be lesser trouble for him and everyone else.

"Fine, do as you please. Anyway, I'm quite sleepy, so goodnight Draco." Blaise stood up transferring to his bed which was just across Draco's.

He watched him walk back to his bed and jumped in it with out even changing from his school robes to his sleep wear. "What a lazy bloke" he murmured to his self and laid back on his bed pulling the comforter over his head.

After what seemed like just a few minutes to him, he felt a strong pair of arms shaking him desperately as if there's an earthquake going on.

"Oi, Draco! Draco, wake up! Wake up!" he could hear Goyle talking to him and still shaking him.

"What's that?" he snapped yanking the comforter away from him and sitting up which made Goyle take a few steps back away from him. "Can't you see I'm still sleeping?" he yelled

"I know but… we're almost late for our class" he pointed out

"Late? What time is it?"

"It's uh nearing 9am" Goyle replied.

"What? And you did not wake me earlier!" he stood up, yelling again while hurrying to change into his uniform. "You… just go ahead, leave me. I'll be down in a bit and… and just go" he instructed and Goyle left at once. He wanted to tell him just how dumb and hopeless he is. But opted not to figuring it'd only cause him more delay, he'll just save it for lunch later or in between classes if he couldn't wait anymore.

He headed for the bathroom to wash his face then went back to their bed room to grab his book bag before going to his Transfiguration class, his first class for the day.

"Mr. Malfoy, do you know you're the third student from Slytherin who's late today?" she asked the moment he stepped into the classroom. "And therefore, I must deduct points this time, 10pts from Slytherin for tardiness. You better take your sit next to Mr. Weasley if you wish to join this class" she told him "It's the only seat available" she added with a warning look on her face telling him not to mess with her. He could feel everyone's eyes on him and proved his self right as he turned towards where Weasley was seated. All, except three students he hated, Potter, Weasley and Granger who didn't seem to notice him at all.

He took his assigned sit at Ron's left. Harry was on his right side while Hermione was seated in front of Ron. Professor McGonagall continued her lecture for a couple of minutes and started asking questions. Most of which were answered correctly by Hermione as usual. "That's 10pts for Gryffindor" the professor announced after throwing questions at the class.

"See? I told you it's her who earns points for our house!" Ron exclaimed in a whisper to Harry "Yeah and we're the ones who take them away" he agreed.

Hermione turned to them "Of course not! There are also others who does that a lot! Like, when Fred & George was still here and some of the lower years" she pointed out kindly, grinning at them.

"Haha! Thanks for that" Harry grinned back and they turned their attention back to the professor who was announcing that they're having double time transfiguration for that day and started distributing test sheets.

"You have 2 hours to fill those in. I'll be back by that time" she said and left the classroom.

Everyone was quiet and started answering the sheets she gave them. The so called test sheets contained questions about their past lessons and requires an on-the-spot one full page essay about the profession they desire after Hogwarts.

"This thing's unnecessary, actually" Hermione commented

"Yeah, I remember having some of this back in fourth year" Harry added, observing the pages of the test paper.

Draco was just quiet and started answering but still made sure he's listening to whatever's going on around him. And the occasional eavesdropping on the trio's conversation, of course.

"Have you written anything about your desired career?" Hermione asked Ron.

"I doubt I'll be able to fill that one in" he shrugged "only thing I'm sure about are the two jobs I'd never ever think of wanting. First, is being a Death Eater and second, a spot in the Ministry" he gave a light laugh. Harry laughed too as Hermione hissed at them.

She saw Draco's hand tighten its grip on the quill he's holding in his left hand. But he did not say anything and just continued writing.

"Don't start it, Ron" she warned him.

"What? I didn't say anything wrong" he told her innocently. "You know what happened" he added as if to remind her of something.

"Of course I do" she replied. "Let's not go through that again, I don't want to get bitter now and neither does Harry."

"She's right. Let's just get this done with" he agreed.

He knew Hermione saw him and wasn't a bit surprised when she was the one who stopped Weasley from talking since she always does that. Somehow it helps him throw more insults at the two boys without risking being hexed by any of them. He wondered what they were talking about in the last part of their conversation, he couldn't understand what she meant by 'don't want to get bitter now' and it made him curious. He stared around the room to see if anyone was done already but everyone still had their heads bowed, scribbling their answers on the test sheets.

"Hermione" he heard Harry's voice again.

"What?" She asked keeping her voice low.

He listened intently to their conversation, he was still curious about what she just said a few minutes ago. He was careful not to get noticed by them.

"Nothing, I was just wondering… what if you just write for The Prophet instead?"

"I… that's not possible" she said sadly "I left that part blank. I'm still thinking…"

"Well, you better decide soon. As for me, I'm sure about being an Auror" Harry beamed proudly.

Another hour passed and Professor McGonagall came back, the papers were on her desk already so she just dismissed them. Everyone headed out immediately for their next class. Hermione took her time in packing her things and so did Harry and Ron because they have an hour of free period before their next class. They were about to leave the room when Draco spoke.

"Actually Weasley, there are two jobs out of my list too. Being a Death Eater and being a Death Eater" he said coldly, walking ahead of them toward the door.

The three just gaped after his figure until he was out of sight, astounded by what he just said. Ron gazed from Harry to Hermione with question in his eyes.

"It's because of what you said earlier" she told him

"I know… but he said he doesn't want to be a Death Eater either. I wasn't expecting THAT from him"

"Well, we weren't too. I just don't know if he was serious or what" said Harry as they finally headed out.

"I think he was serious" Hermione informed them comprehensively in a low voice.

He didn't know exactly why he said all those things to Ron Waesley, of all people! Was he trying to prove something to them? Like… he's not same as his father and will never be? It was stupid, really, to try pointing out such things but he felt satisfied after letting it out. He looked back after turning right to a dim lit hall, near the Ravenclaw Tower thinking someone might be following him again, and was relieved to find no one. Then continued his train of thought; 'I've always wanted to be an Auror since I was three and that's eons before Potter have realized he's a wizard' he thought bitterly. Not even his mom knew of this, of course. He wouldn't dare tell her such thing or else she'll tell Lucius and he'd end up same way Sirius Black did, who got disowned by his whole family. Even his friends were clueless as to what career he really fancied when they graduate from Hogwarts. It's the reason why he was friends with Blaise, Pansy, Vincent and Greggory in the first place. They're all the same. They have things in common. Like being required to follow their parents' footsteps and being placed in the Slytherin house. Another thing they have in common is they're all secretly against it. So technically speaking, they don't have any real futures ahead of them at all.

"Hi Draco!" a group of girls made their way to him. They were waiting from a small hall way for him. "Would you like to have some cookies?" they offered him a pink basket of "freshly" baked cookies.

"Um no…" he reacted immediately as one of the girls tried to hold on to his arm then remembered what Blaise suggested the night before "And stop running after me" he told them firmly but the girls just stared at him not comprehending what he said.

"Why?" they asked in unison after a few moments of gawking at him.

"Because I like someone already and I… I really like her" he lied walking away as quickly as he could not daring to look back at them.

"Did he really say that?" MJ asked the other girls

"Yeah but… he didn't say who the girl was" Dianne Bottle replied "We should find out who that BITCH is, she stole Draco from us" she narrowed her eyes evilly.

----------

"Harry, Wait up!" She called running after him.

"Oi, Hermione what's wrong?"

"Nothing I was just looking for Ginny, I can't find her"

"I haven't seen her since last night. Why?"

"Oh it's nothing, really. I just haven't seen her these past few days and I have nothing to do so… I was wondering if I could bond with her, you know the usual _girl talk. _"

"I see, maybe you'll find her later at the common room"

"Probably" she shrugged "So where are you headed to?"

"Looking for Ron"

"But he's with Lavander. I saw him outside the Potions classroom, the one used by first years"

"Really? Then I guess I'll have to spend my time at the library"

"I don't think you'd like that. Madame Pince has been hunting seventh years for the past…" she checked her watch "46 minutes and 8 seconds to be exact. It's because of Crabbe and Goyle, they borrowed some books and lost it."

Harry just stared at her for a few seconds, thinking what to do next since everything he had in mind are impossible as of the moment. Quidditch with Ron is impossible and researching at the library was impossible too.

Hermione was looking around the corridor, it was pretty bright. The sun was shining through the windows. They were standing near the entrance to the Quidditch field, leaning on the wall. Then Harry pulled something out of his pocket, it was the Marauder's map and inspected it carefully. His eyes traveled up and down, left to right, tracing dots with his forefinger. "Well, Madame Pince is at the West Wing while Ron is at the East Wing with Lavander Brown and Ginny is in McGonagall's office as of this moment" he announced without taking his eyes off the map.

"And?"

"We'll know what part of the castle to avoid, more or less. Oh and Snape is watching the library for now I think… So, are you coming or what?"

She was taken aback with his question "Huh?" she blinked, staring at him questioningly.

"Are you coming or what?" he repeated now lifting his eyes to her face "You see, I told Hagrid I'd visit him one of these days and now I have a free time and you seem like you don't know where to go…"

"Oh yeah sure… I have a book with me anyway…" she trailed off and he smiled at her.

The two walked to Hagrid's house and knocked but no one answered. After a few seconds, the half giant professor emerged from the forbidden forest, beaming at them "Gosh Harry this is the secon' time in this month that yeh stopped by… an' yeh too Hermione. So nice of yeh two" he gave them a light hug "But too bad, I'll have to leave. Professor Dumbledore asked me to do a few things fer him. Is it alright if yeh two just stay out here an' I lock my house? I'll be coming back tomorrow yeh see an'…"

"It's alright Hagrid. We'll be staying here for just an hour. What if I feed Buck- uh Witherwings, instead?" Harry suggested cutting him off from explaining.

"So nice of yeh two to help me" he said, entering his house to get his cloak and then locked the door. He gave two bags of Dragon meat to him before leaving.

Hermione sat on the log by the front door and opened her book as Harry started to feed the Hippogriff. The wind was blowing stronger, carrying her hair to all sort of direction making it whip her face a bit. Breathing in the fresh air, she stood up and stretched her arms then looked around.

"Would you like to feed Witherwings instead?" he offered her the bag. She just shook her head "No. I'll just sit here and read". He just shrugged, continuing to feed the creature in front of him.

_Little did they know that someone could see them in full view from the top of Astronomy Tower, watching them with interest, his eyes shifting from the dark haired boy to the brunette who sat on a log, flipping the pages of a book lazily which was something new. He ran his hand through his hair, and glanced up at the sky. He could feel the chilly wind on his face and remembered it's already the start of November_.

The contents of the bag were emptied after 15 minutes and the Hippogriff returned to the back of the house. Harry washed his hands before sitting next to Hermione "Hmm… do you want to return to the castle?"

"Not yet" she replied, closing her book and turned to face him "You?"

"Not really… I guess I'll be sitting here for an hour or…" he slowly drew his wand from his back pocket, aiming it in her direction "Aguamenti!" he yelled, soaking her wet.

"Harry?!" she yelled standing up while reaching for her own wand to get back at him "It's freezing cold! Are you out of your mind?"

"It IS the whole purpose of wetting each other since the weather is freezing cold" he yelled back as another splash of water came out from his wand, still aimed at her. But she was able to dodge it and took him by surprise as a splash of water from her wand hit him.

_He leaned on the window where Hermione sat when she almost fell off, back in October. He continued to watch them as they exchanged turns on soaking each other wet with ice cold water in a freezing weather like of that one. He couldn't understand why he could not tear his gaze away from that scene. He felt so curious and interested in watching them, especially the Mudblood._


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**A/N:** To the few people who have bothered to read my stuff or put my story on alert, I'm really sorry it took a long time for me to update. I've been down with flu, and I even couldn't stand the glare of the computer. Now, that I'm ok, i'll be updating faster.

**Chapter4**

In less than 10 minutes, both of them stopped because they could feel the cold water seeping through their clothes.

"It's so c… c…cold" Hermione complained, hugging her self with both of her arms. Harry was doing the same while walking towards her, a sheepish grin on his face.

"It is cold… but I had fun" he placed an arm around her shoulders leading her back to the log "We'd better go back and change". She nodded silently but still grinning, it's the first time she did something that insane and she had fun even if she felt like she's going to catch a cold any minute soon.

_Draco Malfoy was still watching them intently even as the two stopped. Then Potter led her back to the log. Hermione was sitting while Harry stood in front of her so it was the dark haired guy's back he could see covering her. After a couple of minutes, she stood up and was now standing close to Harry_.

"Let's go" he offered her his hand to help her stand up because she was still freezing cold. She took his hand and let its strength pull her up remembering the pair of strong arms that helped her from a window just a month ago. That pair of strong arms belonged to Malfoy, their enemy. She then lifted her eyes to his face and realized how close they were to each other. He was peering down at her through his glasses. Their eyes locked for awhile then Harry slowly leaned over to her and… and… Their face was close… their lips almost met… less than two inches apart.

_He could see Potter leaning over to the girl in front him. Both were unmoving and that was when he turned his back to leave. He did not want to see any of it_.

Upon realizing how awkwardly close his face was to his friend, he pulled back and so did she. They turned away from each other, their cheeks pink with embarrassment and coldness.

"I'm uh… sorry" he mumbled, putting his fingers over his lips "I didn't mean to…"

"That's okay" she told him in a small voice, slowly turning to face him "I'm not upset, it was just…"

"Awkward" he finished for her. He was now facing her then she smiled faintly at him.

"Let's go back. I feel like I'm gonna catch a cold" she placed her hand on his arm bracingly and went ahead of him. He stared at her retreating figure for a moment and then followed her to the entrance of the castle where they bumped into the siblings they were looking for earlier. Both were deep in a little sister-against-big brother-argument until they noticed the two who were drenched.

"What happened?" Ginny exclaimed, running over to them. Ron followed her.

"We um… we soaked each other" Hermione explained to her "You know just like what we did last summer at The Burrow"

"But it's freezing cold!" Ron reasoned out "C'mon, hurry up and change."

"Actually, we were looking for you two" Harry spoke up from behind Hermione "We were supposed to practice Quidditch, remember?" he raised a brow at his red-head friend who cast him a guilty look "I forgot" he mumbled.

"I was at McGonagall's office" Ginny told them and all of them started walking in the direction of the Gryffindor Tower so the two could change already. An hour later, they headed down for dinner with Dean, Seamus and Parvati. The three girls were chatting animatedly about their professors, leaving the four just a bit behind them. Harry and Hermione haven't spoken since that "incident" and they never told anyone about it too so no one knew, except, for a certain blonde who was there, watching them from the top of the Astronomy Tower.

It went on until December approached and the weather was colder than ever. The Headmaster had already cast a charm all over the castle just to keep it warm because numerous students were getting sick. So, Professor Dumbledore decided to hire a Healer to assist Madame Pomfrey. Although she was against it at first, she obliged his order because almost everyone was catching colds even the teachers. But she made him promise the Healer will only stay until January and she'll be able to have the Hospital Wing back all to her self again.

As usual, everyone was excited with the nearing holidays and most of the students were either humming or singing famous Christmas songs even if they were out of tune.

On Sunday evening, Hermione was walking briskly along the fourth floor. She was in a hurry to return to their common room after a quick stop at the library. The clock had just struck 10 and Mr. Filch was making his rounds so she didn't want to be caught wandering about beyond curfew. Ginny had promised to wait for her till she returns so they could study together. She was about to turn a corner to climb the stairs which led to the seventh floor where the Gryffindor common room was located when she almost bumped into someone.

"Oh, it's just you Granger" it was Pansy Parkinson who also happened to be carrying a couple of books in her arms. Her face was stony upon seeing the Gryffindor and same with the semi bushy haired girl who was eyeing her cautiously. But both were silent, after a few moments of _out staring_ each other, they decided it'd be safe to move on and go to wherever their destination was. After taking a couple of steps away from each other, a group of seven girls appeared from their left and right, cornering them in no time. The girls were wearing masks which had Draco Malfoy's face on it.

"Who are you?" Hermione and Pansy asked at the same time "Reveal your selves!"

"Our identities are none of your bloody business" a girl with a low voice sneered, taking a step towards them.

"You two bitches better tell the truth if you really care for your life" another girl spoke with a mocking tone of voice "Who among you stole Draco Malfoy from us?" it was Katie Walters speaking.

The two cornered girls stood back to back facing the girls around them, confused at what the others were saying.

"What? Malfoy? From you?" Hermione repeated the question laughingly, she couldn't believe her ears.

"Yes. Draco!" MJ said loudly

"And what did you call us?" Pansy asked, her voice threatening "Did you just refer to us… to ME as a BITCH???"

"What if I did" Katie said "You better answer us now or else…" she left her sentence hanging and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Granger, are you and Draco…?"

"Hell no!" she said right away "They must have been asking you! I don't have anything to do with that git!"

"Well, he's nothing more than a friend to me"

"Admit it or we'll hex you!" Violette yelled pointing her wand on Pansy's heart while Dianne was positioned on Hermione's side pointing a wand on her heart too.

"Hex us?" Hermione said her eyes narrowing dangerously; she was starting to get really annoyed. She and Pansy started moving their hand slowly to reach for their own wands from their robe's pockets.

"Alright" Pansy announced "We'll tell you who Draco is courting. Are you sure you girls want to know?"

"She's really pretty" Hermione added "Ready? 1… 2… 3…" They pointed their wands at the girls and yelled "Aguamenti". The girls shrieked but stopped as Hermione moved her wand from left to right, hitting each girl straight on their faces with the water streaming out from it to prevent them from countering Pansy while she stupefied them all. After doing that, they ran all the way to a deserted corridor somewhere in the fifth floor because they heard the foot steps of the castle's care taker with his cat, Mrs. Norris.

"Do you know those daft headed girls?" Hermione asked breathlessly, leaning on the wall with one hand.

"No" She shook her head, catching for her breath "I don't think I've seen them before. But I must say, the nerve of them to call me a BITCH!" she exclaimed furiously "Do they honestly think Draco would like them? And do they even realize I'm a senior of theirs?"

The Gryffindor remained silent as she continued to express her furry with their recent encounter. She was thinking where she heard those voices, she felt sure that she heard them somewhere.

"I think they sound familiar" she said quietly between the dark haired girl's protests.

"What?" her head shot up "Where did you hear them?"

"I'm not sure" she lied, remembering where she heard those voices. It wasn't so long ago when she got stuck at the top of the Astronomy Tower with Malfoy because of his pesky admirers, back in the first week of October "Damn that git! This is all his fault!" she said darkly and Pansy glared a her.

"First of all, Draco is NOT a git. There might be a reason for this"

"I highly doubt that" she crossed her arms over her chest "He's the reason why those girls cornered us in the first place"

"Mudblood"

"Death Eater"

"As if I wanted to be one in the first place" the dark haired girl muttered

"Do you think I love being called a Mudblood?"

She did not reply and sat on the floor, her back leaning against the wall. The other girl sat beside her and was silent again.

"It's not like I wanted to be a Death Eater… I never wanted to be one" she stated in a small voice, looking up at the ceiling to avoid the Gryffindor's stare

"I already heard that from a certain git just a month ago" she smiled wryly "I can't believe you're telling me this" she shook her head laughingly.

Her face hardened once again at Hermione's reaction, feeling embarrassed for opening up all of a sudden. But was a bit shocked when she said 'I already heard that from a certain git…… '

"Wait, Draco said he doesn't want to be one?"

"Yeah. Just last October I think…"

"He told YOU?"

"No. I was with Harry and Ron" she said "Why what's wrong if it was ME he told that about?" she questioned, facing her completely.

"Nothing" she shook her head dismissively "We all don't want to be Death Eaters from the start"

"All of you? You mean including Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle?" she was surprised at what she was hearing.

"They're the only ones I hang out with aside from my gang, of course" she rolled her eyes.

"I know that it's just that I was…"

"Surprised? Shocked?" she smirked raising her brows.

"Well yes. Sort of" She admitted, blushing a bit.

"Anyway I don't really hate Muggle-borns" she declared, half smiling.

"I can't say the same about Death Eaters. They have tried to kill us for a lot of times now" she smiled back at Pansy who just nodded understandingly.

"Um… if you don't mind me asking… if you didn't want to be like your parents then what career do you have in mind?"

"I've always wanted to be a model" she exclaimed dramatically "Although no one knows that except you"

"Don't worry I'm not a blab" she assured her with a smile, she didn't know even this group of Slytherins had dreams just like her and her friends. She always thought they had nothing in mind but to be "christened" as a Death Eater and join the Dark Lord. But now, she knew she was wrong about her judgment towards them.

"How about you, what do you want to be?

"Me?" she raised her brows, not expecting Pansy would be asking her.

And they started to chat enthusiastically about a lot of things they had in common and their friends. Both were surprised they actually could relate to one another, like Hermione's problem with her dad.

"I know how that feels" the dark haired girl nodded sympathetically, she her self knows what the other meant because she too have problems like that one.

"Harry have always wanted to be an Auror but Ron's still unsure"

"Actually, Blaise loves to cook so I think he likes to open his own restaurant someday, he never confirmed that though. While Vincent and Gregory wants to imitate Honeydukes since it is common knowledge that they have nothing in mind but sweets" she shared "Draco, on the other hand…… he's very quiet about his self so I don't know much about him. He prefers to talk about others' plans than his but he never fails to express his utter admiration with his good looks" she chuckled "He's not THAT self centered like what he seems to be"

Hermione snorted and Pansy stared at her sharply "What do you think of him anyway?"

"Truthfully? He's a bastard to me and I hate him just as much as he hates me" she replied with much certainty in her voice. She did not bother to look at Pansy's reaction and turned to the other side instead.

"Yes you can say that but he doesn't really hate you that much" she stated absentmindedly.

"Pardon?" she faced her immediately "What do you mean he doesn't hate me that much?"

She realized what she just spilled out and stood up at once "Huh? I… did not say anything like that and I have to go. I've been here for quite awhile now. We shouldn't have talked in the first place"

"Yes you did you said…" she tried to say as she stood up too. But the Slytherin gave her no chance to speak "I did not! Ok?" she hissed.

"Fine. If that's what you're claiming" Hermione said flatly "Anyway, I need to go too" she said and they both turned to the opposite directions to return to their common rooms.

----------

As she entered the Slytherin common room, she was startled to find her friends sitting at the huge sofa. They seemed to be holding a meeting or something.

"Where have you been?" Draco's head shot up as she joined them by the fireplace. She plopped her self down beside him.

"Some girls cornered me" she told them nonchalantly, staring at the fire.

"What?" the four yelled.

"I was with Granger at that time we… we… were exchanging insults" she lied a little. She told them what happened and who she was with when those girls cornered her, leaving the part about her chat with Hermione.

"You were with Granger?" Draco repeated, beginning to be more interested with her story. There was a smile on his face that if you don't look closely, you'll easily mistake it for a smug look instead.

"Yeah I was… but back to those girls. They interrogated us! They asked us one of the most stupid questions I've ever heard!"

"What question?" Crabbe asked eagerly

"They wanted to know who among us stole Draco from them! I wanted to laugh really. And then I asked her if she was dating you" she laughed, shaking her head in amusement with the scene when Hermione was wetting those girls. The others laughed too except for Draco himself. "So what did she say?" he asked her in a well composed flat voice.

"She said 'I have nothing to do with that git!' and it was obvious the question annoyed her so much" she replied then added "She even said that they were referring to me! It was really funny because I couldn't imagine what she said". He sank back on the couch, the smile/smug look on his face gone all of a sudden.

"And how did you get rid of them?" Blaise asked expectantly.

"She used Aguamenti and I Stupefied them" she answered simply. They could hear the clock striking 12 midnight already so Goyle stood up and announced he'll be sleeping already and Crabbe followed him. The tray of snacks was still on the table only half empty. Next was Blaise who stood up rubbing his eyes "I need some sleep. Wouldn't want to be late for tomorrow's classes" he winked at the two and headed for the stairs. Pansy soon followed him, when she was about to climb the stairs to the girls' dormitory, she looked back at Draco. He was still sitting on the couch, staring either at the fire or into nothingness. "Hey, are you coming or what?" she called to him "You wouldn't want to be late tomorrow"

"I'm coming I'll just sit here a bit" he called back. She just shrugged and went up.

When they left, he got a piece of parchment from his pocket and grabbed the ink and bottle on the table and started to scribble something on it and followed his Italian friend to their room.

----------

"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed as she climbed through the portrait whole "What took you so long?"

"I just… got held up along the fourth floor on my way back here" And she told Ginny everything that happened to her and who she was with including the conversation after with Pansy Parkinson.

Next day…

"Hi" Harry greeted her as she joined them for breakfast on Monday. He nodded at her direction and she nodded in return. Ginny was once again nowhere to be seen. Ron was sitting beside him "How have you been?" he asked her, both of his brows were raised. She saw Harry nudge him "What's the matter?" she asked back.

"Ginny told us what happened last night but it wasn't clear. She just said you got cornered by a group of Malfoy's obsessed admirers" Ron went on, not minding his friend's nudge.

"Oh… well, I was cornered along the fourth floor by a group of girls. I was um… with Parkinson at that time"

"Parkinson?" Harry repeated in disbelief "Who… who were the girls?"

"Yes Harry I was with her and those girls were… if I am not mistaken, were the same group of girls who got me stuck with Malfoy in the Astronomy Tower. They sure are crazy" she said biting into a croissant "They actually asked me if I was dating that git! Can you imagine?" she snorted, shaking her head before putting away the half bitten croissant "They actually thought he was in love with one of us"

"Why are you putting your croissant away?" Ron asked her curiously.

"It's fattening" she told him then bit into an apple "Half is enough for me"

"And since when did you become so conscious about such matters?"

"You mean this is the first time you actually noticed my eating habits?" she asked back, one brow raised at him.

He did not reply and looked at Harry asking for help to explain his self feeling scared he might get her mad. His dark haired friend just smirked at him and continued eating his scrambled eggs.

"Anyway…" she spoke again changing the subject of their discussion from her diet and back to Malfoy "I just can't believe it! This is the second time I encountered those girls and it's all because o him! I mean I should do something about it, right? Like… tell Professor McGonagall or… or the Headmaster" she went on, a smirk settled on her lips.

"Well, I don't think that would really work. You'll just have to be careful and try to avoid them" Harry advised her "And why did those girls think Malfoy would like you? I mean did he tell them he likes you or Parkinson? I think that's insane" he shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Totally" she agreed.

"I told her it could be possible though" Ginny quipped from behind her as she sat with them. Everybody stared at her thinking she might be out of her mind to say such thing "What? It is possible, you know" she told them.

"No Ginny. Listen, how could that be possible? He was totally hoping I would commit suicide, he even told me I was an eyesore. Remember? Just last September" she pointed out to the younger Weasley.

"But he helped you up from that window, didn't he?" she reasoned. Then Pansy's words flashed back to her 'He doesn't really hate you…' but erased it immediately from her head. With one last look at everyone and at her food, she stood up. Bringing her bag along and started to set off for her class. "Don't be too sure" Ginny called after her but she didn't pay attention and continued her way out of the Great Hall.

**A/N:** Please read and review. I promise too update soon. Thanks.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **owns nothing

**Chapter5**

On her way out, she accidentally bumped into Draco and didn't notice him until he spoke "Watch where you're going, will you?" he said and entered the hall. She stared at his back, wondering why he didn't call her any names and his retort wasn't exactly as snappy like it used to be. She just shrugged it off and walked away. She thought about the words that slipped out of Pansy's tongue and all the things Ginny pointed out to her. In her belief, it's really impossible for him to like her and for her to like him. Sure, he helped her up that window but it was his fault why it happened in the first place. She even got stuck up there because of him and also the recent confrontation she got from those nasty bimbo fanatics of his. So all in all, it's him who owes her a lot.

----------

"Watch where you're going, will you?" he said to her after she bumped him on her way out. She was in a hurry and it was obvious by the look on her face that she didn't know what just happened. But since he too was in a hurry, he did not bother to prolong that encounter and headed straight for the Slyherin table, his friends were no longer there. He could see Potter and the two Weasleys chatting about something which seemed to be so serious based on their expressions. He reached for a croissant and drank a glass of milk before leaving the table to get to his class. The encounter Pansy told him about intrigued him a lot. He also couldn't forget the scene he saw from the Astronomy Tower which never fails to annoy him. Potter leaned over to kiss her… From what he saw, it's as if it was such a natural thing to happen between them. He pushed a fifth year Ravenclaw out of his way not noticing that it was Dianne Bottle who has been spying him for the past two days. It has become his habit to push whoever was in his way whenever he felt annoyed with anything.

----------

Days passed, the conversation during that breakfast was forgotten and never opened up since. Her flashbacks about Timothy were becoming frequent again especially whenever she was alone. She did not bother to tell her friends about it though.

Wednesday evening just before dinner, she was by her self again. Ginny was with the new guy she's dating from Hufflepuff while Harry and Ron were practicing Quidditch for an upcoming match with Slytherin. She settled her self inside the empty Divinations classroom just beside the Great Hall, the one that Firenze used for his classes. She started to read the book she bought during their last Hogsmeade trip since the school's copy wasn't aloud to be brought out of the library. It was all about levitation entitled; Advanced Levitation. She followed the instructions in the first chapter and soon, she was already floating in the air. She closed her eyes to concentrate and see if she could still rise higher. In only 4 seconds, she was 3 feet away from the floor. "I did it!" she exclaimed to her self in a whisper "I actually am levitating!"

Exactly 28 minutes and 7 seconds later, she was still floating and fully concentrated. But suddenly, out of nowhere, she had one of her dreaded flashbacks. It was Christmas Eve, a year ago just before they broke up. Timothy and his family were in their house for a dinner celebration. She remembered that she was so happy that Christmas.

"_Hermione, I want you have this" he whispered in her ear and wore a pearl necklace around her neck "Keep it forever" he added._

"_It's beautiful… I liked it a lot… thanks" she breathed placing a soft damp kiss on his cheek._

"_Of course it is beautiful. It's for you!" he grinned at her._

It has been quite some time since she threw that necklace away because it only reminded her of him. She felt like being torn apart whenever she thinks of him, all she ever wanted is to move on and forget him. "Stop thinking about him!" she scolded her self "Don't be stupid. Just… stop and forget him!" but it was too late, she was having multiple flashbacks of him hugging her, kissing her and the sweet moments they have spent together. Most of all, she couldn't forget his face and smile. She couldn't make the flashbacks stop. It's as if someone had cast a spell on her for those thoughts to remain in her head. "NOoooo!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, clutching her head with her left hand. The door had burst open and she lost her concentration in levitating that she fell to the floor with her right arm catching her whole weight "Ouch!" she yelled again trying to get hold of her injured arm, her eyes tightly shut.

"I… uh… I'm sorry did I surprise you?" she could hear Draco Malfoy's voice. She tried to stand up but the pain of her arm was just too much. Then he approached her and helped her sit up "Are you alright?"

"No, my right arm hurts. I… I fell on it" she said. He took his wand out, pointed it at her arm and murmured something for five seconds then the pain in her arm stopped. She was able to move it like nothing happened.

"It stopped" she looked up at him "What did you do?"

"Just some spell my mother taught me" he stuffed his wand back in his pocket and stood up "What were you doing anyway? I thought I saw you levitating…" he trailed off. She nodded silently, a bit red in the face "I was" she mumbled.

"I don't think I have seen anyone done that before…"

"Really? Well I just read about it in the library a month ago"

"The spell I used is just temporary. The pain will come back an hour or two from now" he informed her, pulling a chair over to the side for him to sit on. Hermione stood up and walked over to the center of the room "So why are you here?" she questioned him "They're not running after you again, I hope" she turned to face him "Unless you're following ME around" she smiled wryly to her self, her back was facing him.

He shook his head with a smirk "No, they aren't following me around this time and I am not following you around either. It's simply what one would call coincidence" he was tapping his fingertips on his lap while watching her.

"If you say so" she shrugged.

"I heard from Parkinson you got cornered by those girls last week" he wanted to see how she'll react on that topic. He still felt curious and wanted her side of the story.

"So she um…told you about it" she remarked anxiously.

"Yeah she said you were cornered and you two got rid of them eventually"

She was relieved Pansy did not mention anything to him about their _small talk._ She turned to face him and he was staring back at her. He was sitting near the blackboard and Firenze's table where she fell awhile ago.

"We were able to get rid of them. What did you tell them anyway?" she has been itching since that night to ask him that question and finally, the time has come to do so.

"I don't remember saying anything to them" he lied.

"There must be something you have said that made them think you're involved with one of us. They kept on insisting you were interested in one of us… I mean _romantically_ interested" she smirked. Before he arrived, she couldn't stop thinking of Timothy. But the moment Draco came in, everything about him seemed to have vanished from her head, as if she wasn't having a hard time trying to forget him just awhile ago.

He felt a bit guilty for not telling her what he really said because it was him who got them cornered. He was the reason why those girls did what they did. After arguing with his 'conscience' he decided to tell her what he really told those girls "Fine… I told them I like someone already. But I did not give any names. It was Zabini who suggested that to me" he waited for her reaction. She did not say anything. The smirk on her face was no longer there, she was now serious. "So how did you react? Parkinson told me you were mad" he was trying to keep his voice as casual as possible so she won't notice how interested he is to hear her answer.

"I was… furious" she admitted, glancing at his face from time to time "I actually thought you used me… us… so they'd stop running after you. But of course you would NOT use my name so I figured they must be referring to Parkinson. And then she told me she doesn't like you in THAT kind of way"

He just listened to her as she talked and did not push the topic any further "Yeah she doesn't… But who's Timothy?" he asked. Before he entered the classroom, he heard her saying that name and a lot of stuff loudly to her self. Hermione stared at him horrifyingly "Huh? How… how did you know that name?" she asked back.

"I overheard you, right before I entered you were saying that name out loud…" she did not let him finish explaining "He's no one and don't ever mention him again" she said quickly. She noticed something odd when he mentioned her ex's name. Normally, she would have flashbacks when his name gets mentioned which is why her friends were always careful not to mention him in front of her. But this time, nothing happened. No flashbacks or anything at all. She guessed that maybe because it was an enemy who mentioned it that's why she wasn't affected. But she still wasn't so sure with her theory.

The way she answered just him made him more curious about that Timothy. Why was she so sensitive about him? Who is he to her, really? He wondered inside his head, eyeing her curiously. And saw her gazing at him so intensely "Is there anything wrong?" he asked her.

"Nothing, I just…… don't mind it" she said dismissively. She could not help but notice how he has changed since their last encounter at the Astronomy Tower. He didn't insult her or called her a Mudblood. Or at least, he hadn't YET. She stood up from her seat and pushed the chairs in the middle over to the side and sat on the floor. Exactly the same position when she was levitating a few minutes ago. She closed her eyes and started to concentrate again.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he sat up straight, sounding a bit alarmed.

"Continuing what I was doing before you showed up" she replied.

"But…"

"I was able to do it so I might again"

She concentrated hard, murmured a spell and waited for a few seconds. She started floating again for a minute, 8 inches above the floor, but fell in less than two minutes. And since she was only 8 inches from the floor, she just fell on her butt and did not hurt her self that much.

"You aright?" he called to her with a smirk.

"Am fine" she mumbled bitterly "Darn, I couldn't do it anymore" she stomped, her brows furrowed and arms crossed over chest. She looked like a little girl throwing tantrums.

He tried to suppress a laugh but wasn't successful. It was the first time he saw her like that, so upset just because she couldn't levitate again. He actually thought she looked cute that way, her hair a little bushier than the usual due to her mood and her cheeks slightly pink.

"What are you laughing at?" she demanded glaring at him. He was covering his mouth with one hand but she could still see and hear him guffawing.

"you" he answered truthfully.

"What's so funny?"

"You, you're really disappointed you couldn't do it anymore. It's the first time I've seen you like that" he explained in between his laughter.

"It could also be your last" she snapped at him.

"What a snappy retort from you, Granger. But I don't think it scared me"

"Well if you're not gonna say anything to make me feel better then SHUT UP" she said angrily, her hands on her hips. She was facing him.

"Why not call Potter to comfort you then?" he said unexpectedly in a sarcastic tone. Although he didn't really mean to say it, it just slipped his tongue.

"Excuse me?" she blinked

"You heard me. Why not just go to him?" _There's no turning back now_, he thought.

"And what brings him into this discussion or whatsoever you call this?"

"I saw you two kissing"

"See? So you really have been following me around!" she exclaimed getting all of a sudden angry.

"No I wasn't" he said flatly.

"Oh yes you were! How else would you know the things that happened to me? Even the thing that Harry and I only kept to our selves?"

"I was on the top of the Astronomy Tower at that time. Besides, it isn't my fault if a clear view of Hagrid's house could be seen from up there!" he was getting annoyed with her accusations that he too raised his voice at her "I have so much more important things to do than to follow a……"

Hermione cut across him "A what? A Mudblood? An eyesore? Is that what you were about to say? Well guess what? I DON'T CARE!!!" she yelled furiously not caring if someone heard her "Maybe you shouldn't have helped me up that stupid window so I'll be dead by now! Then you wouldn't have to waste your time and energy insulting me or… or watching me. I'm so sick of you Malfoy!" her face was red with all the fury she expressed towards him. She could feel her eyes starting to water but she forced herself to stop it. All the accumulated anger she felt for him through the years have finally come out.

He stood up, walked over to her and she backed away a little. He was staring at her in a weird way, but did not look even half as angry as her "Yeah, maybe I should have let you fall that day then you'd be dead just like what you said. But I helped you, didn't I? I helped you up that window without thinking twice. Now, do you honestly think I wanted you dead?" he asked her quietly. His voice was surprisingly calm but firm.

"How should I know? I don't know you that much. I have only known you to be that bastard who insults practically everyone" her voice wasn't very loud anymore and a bit shaky.

"Is that what you really think of me?" he questioned her in a low voice. His bangs were covering his grey eyes.

"Yes" she sighed heavily "Just like how you think I'm a Mudblood and my friends as blood traitors"

"But I don't" he turned his back at her and was about to leave when a piece of folded parchment fell out of his pocket. It flew right in the middle of him and Hermione. They stared at each other then at the folded parchment between them. He was about to get it when she said "Accio folded parchment" and unfolded it.

He stared at her astonishingly. He couldn't let her read the stuff written on the parchment, things HE had written. She was already reading the first two lines when he went back to her and asked the paper back. But she did not return it so he snapped it from her hands.

"What was that?" she asked curiously.

"None of your concern" he mumbled putting the paper back in the deepest of his pocket.

"But it seemed like a…" she trailed off.

"It was nothing, alright? Nothing"

"I can't understand you! You helped me up that window. You insisted that there are wizards who loves gore. Now, you barged in here, helped me when I fell and mended my arm temporarily. Oh and before this, you saw me and Harry kissing, which, by the way didn't happen. Then you just said something really weird and right now, you're angry because I read that poem of yours!" her voice was rising again and went on "She was right. You are different"

"You read everything in this?" he held the paper up in his hand.

"I… n…no" she denied, shaking her head madly.

"Then how did you know it was a poem?"

"I just saw the uh first two lines"

"Good" he looked relieved "What did you mean by 'she was right…'?"

"I uh… w…w…what?" she stammered.

"You said 'she was right' who's _she_?" he took a step toward her.

"Just my friend" she said quickly.

"Weasley?" he raised one brow at her.

"Yes. Her."

"So what exactly did she say?" he pressed on.

"D…don't change the subject! You have not answered me yet"

"I told you it was all coincidence. Nothing more and nothing less"

"No it's not! Stop using that as an excuse. You're avoiding my questions! Earlier, you said you don't think that I'm a Mudblood and my friends aren't blood traitors. But for years we've been receiving insults from you and your friends. How do you explain that!"

"Look, just stop this alright? I don't owe you or anyone any explanation. So just stop and forget everything" his back was facing her again. He planned to leave immediately to avoid more questions from her because he wasn't sure if he could still answer them and she was starting to get to his nerves already. He noticed she had suddenly become speechless so he turned around to see and ask what's wrong. He saw her lying unconscious on the floor. His eyes widened and he swooped down, carrying her up to the Hospital Wing where he laid her on the first vacant bed he saw "Madame Pomfrey" he yelled, alarmed at Hermione's condition. The assistant healer approached them and asked what happened.

"She fainted. An hour ago, she fell a few feet from the ground and injured her arm. I cast a temporary pain killing spell on her arm but it's just good for an hour or two. You better see for your self"

The assistant healer poured a colorless fluid on a cotton ball and held it under Hermione's nose and she gained consciousness. But the moment she did, she felt pain in her injured arm. Like the bones in her arm was being disconnected one by one "Ouch my arm…" she cried, her eyes tightly shut "It hurts. Hurts too much"

"What's happening?" he asked, leaning over to hear her clearly. He saw the tears in her eyes and the way she was holding her arm "Madame Pomfrey!" he called in a louder voice this time, not knowing how he could help her. "What's wrong?" she rushed to them "What happened to her?"

"She… she broke her arm I think" Draco repeated everything he explained to the assistant healer as the school nurse tended to Hermione who lost her consciousness once more.

"She'll be fine in a bit. Now if you'll just step aside so I can tend to her properly, I'll just…" she wasn't able to finish what she was about to say because Harry and Ron pushed her aside. Turns out they were also there because they had some injuries while practicing Quidditch.

"What did you do to her!" Ron yelled pointing his wand at the blonde haired guy's chest furiously.

"Nothing! I just brought her here when I saw her unconscious" he said, his hand over his head "She was levitating when I saw her and…and she lost her balance then she…" he swallowed hard "She fell and injured her right arm. You can ask her later when she wakes up. I don't know exactly what happened to her."

"Levitating?" the nurse repeated after glaring at Harry and Ron "But how did she do it and why? I don't think you have any subject that requires levitating"

The three of them moved aside so Madame Pomfrey could resume to healing Hermione. They stood at the foot of her bed watching her. Ron was throwing dagger looks at Draco while Harry was silent his eyes focused on his sick best friend. All of them were worried. "I'm afraid all of you would have to leave first. She's okay now. She needs to rest" the nurse finally told them after 15 minutes.

"But you haven't told us what happened to her" Draco protested.

"Or how long she'll be asleep!" said Harry.

"Miss Granger fractured her arm a bit too badly but she'll be back to normal in a few days time. now, she has to rest and you may come back tomorrow to visit her tomorrow" she hurried them out of the clinic, even when they tried to protest and slammed the door in their faces. Ron faced Draco, still glaring and so did Harry "Tell us what exactly happened back there" they growled at him.

**A/N: **see, as i promised, I updated soon... again, please read and review...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter6**

"I already told you everything! I told you just ask her when she wakes up if you want to know more" he was thankful she was okay already. He was really worried when she fainted and her arm started to hurt. Everything happened way too fast and he couldn't explain how or why he felt that way when he saw her on the floor.

"How come you saw her then? Were you two together during that moment?" Harry questioned him suspiciously. He stared at the dark haired boy sensing his suspiciousness.

"No. I was just passing by when I heard someone yelling. I heard 'Timothy' so I entered the room where the yelling came from which was the Divinations classroom Firenze used and saw her. She was startled, she lost her balance" he said, a slight smirk was on his face.

"She was really levitating?" Ron asked amusedly.

Professor McGonagall arrived to check on Hermione since she's the head of the Gryffindor House. She instructed the three to go to the Great Hall because dinner was starting already or go do whatever they have to do and entered the Hospital Wing. But they did not leave and continued to interrogate the Slytherin about Hermione.

"Who's Timothy?" he wanted to know. The two glanced at each other "It's none of your business" they snapped.

"That's what she told me too" he smirked.

"So what did she say about…er…Timothy?" Harry asked.

"I didn't hear her very well. And when I asked her about that person, she refused to talk about it. Why are you asking anyway? ME of all people here" he shook his head laughingly "Aren't you the one who should know these things sine you're her boyfriend or something?" he pointed out. He tried to remember when she ever told him that Harry was indeed her boyfriend. But he couldn't because she never did.

"Me? Her boyfriend? You don't know what you're talking about, Malfoy" It was Harry's turn to smirk at him.

"Yeah since when did Harry become her boyfriend?" Ron chimed in.

"You're right, I don't know what I'm talking about. I need to go, I have something else to do" he excused himself and left quickly. What's got into me? , he thought to himself. Why did I care too much about her? He had no idea when he started caring for her. Wasn't it just last September when he humiliated her in front of the whole school? Back then, it was clear with the way he spoke to her that he hated her and would be more than glad if she would drop out of the school. Now what happened? He slapped his forehead. He didn't want to think anymore.

"What's wrong with him?" Ron asked when Draco was gone, Harry shrugged.

"C'mon let's have dinner, we'll come back first thing in the morning" he announced and they went straight to the Great Hall where they saw Ginny and told her everything that happened.

"Are you two sure she's okay now?" she asked again.

"Hermione's alright. We'll be visiting her tomorrow morning. Come with us if you want" her brother offered.

"Yes I'll come" she sighed wearily "I want to see her" Hermione is like a sister to her already. With all the overprotective brothers (her father included) she has and a mom who tends to be exaggerated at times, it was her whom she confides in. And it is also her who gives advices and listens to her queries.

He stared at the fire in the fireplace, the flames reflecting in his eyes. He's been sitting in Slytherin common room for over an hour now. Dinner has been long over. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. He stood up and headed out of the room, checking everywhere to make sure no one saw him. he sneaked up to the Hospital Wing, Madame Pomfrey was inside her office while her assistant was asleep. It was dark, only the light from the small office served as light to the whole clinic. He headed for her bed on a tip-toe, careful not to be seen nor heard. He pulled a chair to the right side of her bed and sat down. He was watching her as she slept.

"Who's there?" she whispered, she felt someone near her but wasn't sure who.

"Malfoy" he whispered back. Hermione reached out to touch his face with her left hand "What brings you here?"

"I don't know, really. I just… I just felt like seeing you" he replied and laced his hand over hers "Your hand is cold"

"I know, both of my hands are cold"

"How are you?"

"I'm feeling better now. But tell me, what made you come here?"

"Whoa! It's really dark in here" he took his wand out and whispered "Lumos" and the tip of his wand lighted. They could already see each other's faces more clearly as he held his wand lower between them.

"While I was at our common room, I had this crazy idea of sneaking up here and…" he stopped talking. She was listening to him as he spoke "And what?" she asked softly.

"Sneak up here and talk to you" he finished.

"About what?"

"Anything… I just wanted to talk and see you"

She stared at him, thinking what is there to say "Thanks" she said quietly "The assistant Healer told me it was you who brought me here". He was watching her closely. "You're welcome" he said graciously, half smiling at her.

"What did Harry and Ron say? I saw Ron point his wand at you, what did they tell you?"

"Worried that I hexed or insulted them?" he raised his rows at her "Well, they kept on asking me what happened to you. I told them what you were doing when I found you in that classroom. Although I didn't mention anything about what happened between that and when I brought you here."

"They now know that I tried to levitate?" she tried to sit up but her arm hurt because it still couldn't support even half of her weight, she looked alarmed.

"Yeah that's what I told them" they were speaking in hushed voices "Why, is there anything wrong with that?"

"I… I just… well I have not told them that I am into levitating! And we normally tell everything to each other"

"They didn't look like they were mad at you" he stated in a nonchalant tone "You can tell them everything about it tomorrow since I told them to ask you"

"It feels weird hearing all of these things from you" she commented with a faint smile.

"Uh…why would that be?"

"It does not seem like you at all. It's all too new for me"

"So you want me to leave?"

"No!" she said automatically "I don't… It'd be nice if you could stay here for a while… with me" she said slowly.

"Okay, I'll stay" he promised her. She thanked him again and he said "Hey, it's not like you forced me. I also wanted to stay here"

"Am I dreaming?" she asked jokingly.

"You're not. Do you want me to prove it?"

"How?"

"Simple. I'll just kiss you then you'd realize you're awake kissing a handsome bloke who happens to be me" he grinned at her mischievously.

"Kiss you? Are you crazy?" she laughed.

"Hmm… not yet, so do you still want to find out if you're really awake? I'm ready." He sat up straight wiggling his brows.

"Er… that's not needed" she told him "I realized I'm awake"

"If you say so" he shrugged still grinning.

"Where are Madame Pomfrey and her assistant Healer?"

"They're both sleeping" he peeked at the office and saw the light go off "I've been intending to ask you a question but you have to promise that you'll answer me"

"I'll try… what is it?"

"I'm really curious who that Timothy is because when I brought that up to Potter and Weasley, they… they told me it's not of my business"

She took a deep breath before answering "He's a Muggle" she was looking straight into his eyes "He dumped me last summer when he found out I'm a Witch"

"What's wrong with being a Witch?" he asked, his brows furrowing. He lifted his eyes to hers and noticed her blushing a bit till she turned away from him. It was obvious she didn't want to talk about the Muggle "It's already three in the morning" he remarked and pretended to stretch his legs.

"What?" she turned back to him, her eyes wide "No way! Madame Pomfrey wakes up around this time!" she exclaimed in a whisper "She might see you" she was worried.

"I almost forgot she wakes up around this time. Anyway, I'll be going and… nice talking to you _Miss Granger_" he stood up to retreat to his common room. His eyes have not left hers yet, his hand placed over her left hand.

"Same here _Mr. Malfoy_" she said curtly then gave out a light laugh "Sounds quite odd, doesn't it? I guess I'll be calling you Malfoy then without the _Mister_"

"Fine by me, Granger" he gave nod in her direction "There, that's better I think" he smiled and they were both silent again "Good night" he whispered before leaving and she mumbled "You too" before he left. He was about to leave Harry and Ron arrived.

"What are you doing here?" they demanded in a mere whisper.

Draco peeked at Hermione who was already asleep then back at the two "I visited her."

"Her? You mean…Hermione?" Harry asked, he was surprised and confused at the same time.

"What were your intentions?" the red head wanted to know, trying hard to remain calm.

"Nothing bad" he shrugged, a smug look on his face which annoyed the two more.

"You better be sure, Malfoy or I'll…" Ron started to threat but was interrupted by the school nurse's voice "Who's there?" she asked and switched the light in her office on.

"Quick! We better get out of here" Harry hissed and they all ducked to avoid being seen. They crawled over to the door and got out one by one as fast and quietly as they could.

"So why did you visit her?" Harry asked again when they came out, they were all standing up already.

"You insulted her again, didn't you?" the other Gryffindor accused.

"No… I just felt like seeing her" he replied. The smugness was also resembled in his voice.

"You can't do that just because you felt like it. Sneaking up here at this time of the night, you must be planning something" the boy with glasses insisted stubbornly.

"Well, you're here too Potter so you must be planning something too" he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at them, smirking.

"And what would that be?"

"How should I know? You see, I'm not that good at Legilimency and I don't think you would want me to use it on you either"

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry was pissed. "We're here because we want to see her and she's our friend. And as for you, I don't think she'll be pleased to see you at all" he paused then went on "But like what Ginny said, There's always a possibility" he smirked sarcastically which the blonde head returned.

Sneering, he turned his back to leave "Glad to hear you're open to possibilities, Potter" he started to walk away, waving his hand dismissively at the two "And… I had no bad intentions at all" he called out to them before disappearing from their view.

Ron turned to Harry, trying to analyze what Draco Malfoy just said. Both were bewildered to what it exactly meant. Then the thought hit Harry, maybe Malfoy fancied Hermione. But since he still hasn't confirmed his suspicion, he decided not to tell Ron anything.

Hermione woke up early the next day feeling chirpy. She felt like she had the best sleep ever since the day she broke up with the Muggle. Was it because of her little talk with Malfoy or was it because of the really good sleep she had? She herself wasn't exactly sure. She ate up all the food the nurse gave her and drank the bitter tasting potion which according to Madame Pomfrey is good for her injuries. She was informed that she was to stay in the clinic for a few more days and probably also spend Christmas there. For her, it was good news because she'll have an excuse not to go home. But the thing is she'll be sad since all her friends would be spending their holidays in the Burrow.

"Oh don't be so sad, dear. I will call your parents later so they could come over and visit you. The Headmaster has arrangements for these cases" she winked at the semi-bushy haired girl who forced a smile with a word of thanks. No one understands, she murmured to her self as the nurse left to tend to other patients. She turned to the table beside her where her book was and saw a piece of folded parchment. She slowly reached for it and unfolded it. The contents were familiar… she couldn't remember exactly where she read the first few lines. Then it came to her why it was so familiar. It's the paper that fell out of his pocket yesterday, she thought. She remembered him being so defensive of it. She read the lines to her self in a whisper so no one would hear;

_I may not know everything about you._

_Nevertheless, I've found you among 100 million of people._

_There's no proof but I am very serious of it._

_It's impossible to live in the same time with no single quarrel._

_If we can't be honest, happiness and sadness are just meaningless._

_If the snow powder may whiten deep to our hearts, could we both share our loneliness?_

_I would press my ear near to your heart and go deep down into the place where_

_I hear that voice and meet you once again._

_Snow powder does not rely on time, moving our heart._

_Nevertheless, I'd still like to keep on protecting you._

_If the snow powder may whiten deep to our heart, it will cover both_

_Our loneliness and return it to the sky…_

She scanned the page two more times, her brows furrowed in confusion. She didn't know why it was there on her table. Did it fall out of his pocket again and the nurse picked it up thinking it was hers? Or did he leave it there on purpose?

"Hermione!" Ginny squealed pushing the door to the clinic as she entered with Harry and Ron in tow.

"Hi…" she greeted in return, folding the paper quickly and sliding it in her pocket. She smiled at them "How are you?"

"Shouldn't we be the ones to ask you that?" the younger Weasely sat on her bedside. The other two grabbed their own chairs and sat at the other side. "When I told mum what happened to you, she wanted to come but she's really busy so I guess she'll send you something one of these days". She just nodded as Ginny spoke. "Did you really try to levitate?" she was curious.

"Uh… I…sort of did" she admitted.

"What were you thinking?" Ron demanded and stood up, pacing back and forth in front of them.

"I just saw it in the…"

"Library" Harry finished for her and she slowly nodded "Yeah but……"

"The library!" the red head boy exclaimed angrily "I knew that library was no good! Look what happened to you!" he scolded her.

"No I just…"

"We were all so worried! And were you even aware that it was Malfoy who brought you here? He said he just saw you levitating and then you fell and became unconscious" he went on.

"Yeah Madame Pomfrey informed me" she mumbled, not making any eye contact with them.

"Ron she just woke up. Give her a break" Ginny interrupted "That can wait"

"Fine" he gave her a dirty look before returning to his seat.

"I was surprised it was who Malfoy brought me here. This is the second time he had done something nice…"

"Saved your life, you mean" the girl beside her said with a knowing look in her eyes.

"I find it rather strange though" she continued, ignoring the look and grin the younger girl was giving her "What happened anyway? When I woke up I saw you pointing your wand at him but I fainted again" she told Ron.

"No we just did a little _interrogation_. We were really worried" said Harry "Have you talked to your parents?"

"Not yet but the Nurse said she'll call them later" she replied.

"Here" Ron handed her a brown bag "We brought you some books to read. These are all novels _not _from the library" he placed the bag on her table and she thanked them. "What about lessons? Did I miss out too much?"

"You don't have to worry about that, besides, we're really near our Christmas break. Two days from now, I think" Harry told her and the two siblings nodded in agreement. "Isn't that great?" Ginny gushed.

"I…I don't know… you see I'll have to spend the holidays here until my arm heals completely" she bit her lip and looked down at her fingers. They took a glance at each other and did not say anything.

"Did you know Malfoy was here early this morning?" Ron asked suddenly. He really didn't want to let the subject of Malfoy go even if Harry nudged him roughly.

Her head shot up at his question, not expecting it at all. She was taken aback but hid it to her self "No. I didn't" she lied "I didn't know he was here" she could see Harry staring at her intensely. It was obvious he was not convinced at all. He opened his mouth to ask another question that he was sure would prove her guilty of her lie. But he closed it again as the door flew open once more revealing Mrs. Granger "Oh god Hermione! I thought you were dead" she sobbed, throwing her self over her daughter. Mr. Granger followed and sat on the foot of her bed. She gave her friends an apologetic look. "Great we'll just go ahead first. Talk to you later" Harry said. Her dad shook each of their hands before they left as a sign of gratitude and recognition.

"I'm fine mum. I just fell on my arm, that's all. Don't cry…" Her mum hugged her while her dad held her left hand "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay dad. You don't have to worry"

"So when are you getting out?" Mrs. Granger asked, dabbing the corner if her eyes with a white handkerchief.

"In a week I guess" she murmured.

"A week? You're not going to spend the holidays with us?!"

"Sort of… that's what Madame Pomfrey told me" she shrugged.

"But you have to come home and spend Christmas with us!"

"I don't want to mum" she said quietly, shaking her head from side to side. She was anxious to see him because she didn't know what will happen if ever they do bump each other or what if their parents wants them to get back together? Thought like these scared her. She knew very well Timothy hates her now and it seems like he'll never forgive her.

"Tom's parents came the other day and they wanted to see you. We told them you'll be home for the holidays and we arranged another Christmas dinner just like last year" Mr. Granger announced to her slowly.

"I don't want to. I don't want to come home" she peeked at them and saw her dad's forehead crease.

"We know but can't you just…" he tried to reason out "just have dinner with them and some small talk, perhaps"

"No, dad I said no. Please just let me. I'll go back when school's over"

"You can't say no young lady! Whether you like it or not, you'll be home for the holidays!" he raised his voice at her. The people in the Hospital Wing turned to look then returned to their businesses right away. She yanked her hand away from him as tears started to well up in her eyes. She was still shaking her head in disagreement "I don't want to. Please don't force me" she sniffed, her eyes begging. Mrs. Granger was torn between rubbing her daughter's back and calming her husband.

She was tired of her dad always dictating her, telling her what she should or shouldn't do next. He was controlling her life for her already and she knew she had to stop it somehow.

----------

Meanwhile, Harry left Ron and Ginny in the Quidditch field and told them he's going to the bathroom. He headed straight for the Slytherin Tower, not minding all the whispering and eyes which followed him. He only had one thing in mind and that is to confront Draco Malfoy. He needed to hear it straight from him. He stood outside their common room with arms crossed over his chest despite of all the dagger looks being thrown at him.

"Potter, what brings you here?" Pansy Parkinson asked, she just came from the Great Hall. A gang of girls stood behind her eyeing the dark haired Gryffindor from head to toe.

"Where is Malfoy?" he asked back.

"He's not here. You have not answered me, why are you here?"

"So where is he?" he took a step toward her, not bothering to answer her question.

"Over here" came Malfoy's voice. He was right behind Harry.

"Draco I thought you were…" Pansy started but he cut across her "No. I'm here now, you can go" he said giving them a nod and they entered the common room. "What do you want Potter?"

"Let's talk" Harry's face was serious.

"Quidditch?" he knew very well Harry didn't go there to talk about Quidditch, it was something else. Obviously, with the seriousness in his face and voice it was something more important. Shifting his weight from his left foot to the right, they started to walk out of the tower. They couldn't talk inside the castle what with all the eavesdroppers straining their necks just to hear them. When they reached the Quidditch field, Harry climbed up to the bleachers with Draco behind him.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" he questioned, they finally reached the top. The wind was blowing hard which caused their robes to flutter behind them. "Potter, you said you wanted to talk to me" he reminded him. He was getting bored.

He turned to face his archenemy and took a breath before speaking "It's about Hermione…do you like her?" he was staring straight at Malfoy who didn't seem to be taking him seriously.

"What made you think I'll answer you?"

"Do you like her?" he repeated as if he did not hear what the other boy just said.

He was thinking hard of how to answer the dark haired boy because he himself didn't know the real answer. He placed one hand in his pocket and noticed something wrong. The piece of paper which he always brought with him was missing "That's strange" he muttered digging deeper into his pocket but the paper really was not there. Then he remembered what he absentmindedly did the night before, when he visited Hermione in the clinic.

_He watched her until she fell asleep and as he was about to leave, he left the paper on the table beside her and that was when her two best friends saw him standing by the side of her bed._

The question was so sudden that he couldn't think of any way to answer it. He hadn't really given the matter much thought because it simply hadn't crossed his mind. Like her? Hermione Granger? The one I use to call Mudblood in front of the whole school? And the very same girl whom I helped twice and also the one I had a chat with just last night? He glanced at Harry who was still waiting for his answer. He was finding it stupid to be so confused about his feelings for her and he hated it so much.

"I'm not sure…I'll have to think about it" he sighed tiredly.

"What? Are you kidding me? You'll think about it?" he reacted loudly, his fists starting to clench in annoyance with Draco's reply.

"That's not what I meant…"

"You're playing with her feelings aren't you?" he accused, narrowing his eyes "I won't allow it Malfoy!" he said, his temper firing up at once "You better stay away from her if that's your plan"

"Pardon? Me, play with her feelings? What the hell are you saying?" he asked, shocked at his accusation "I told you before I don't have bad intentions at _all_"

"Don't even try to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about! You helped her twice, visited her in the wee ours of the night just because you _felt_ like seeing her and then what?"

He had no idea why Harry was acting all so defensive about Hermione. They're just friends; unless… he did not allow his mind to wander about having malicious thoughts. "Potter, are you jealous or something?" he asked out of the blue.

"Why would I be?" he asked in return. To him, the idea that he likes Hermione in a _romantic _way or him being jealous of Malfoy sounded absurd. He racked his brain for a reason to be jealous like what Malfoy is claiming but none came up.

"No idea" he shrugged "Perhaps because of that kiss and now you think you're committed or something" Draco's expression looked like he was provoking a duel.

"And when did this happen? When we…_allegedly_ kissed?" he put on his best smirk and faced the Slytherin. Every word he and Hermione had agreed upon regarding the kiss was still clear in his mind. So he faced him with full conviction and pretended he was just making up a story. But deep inside him, he was shocked why Draco knew that they almost kissed.

"Great. So now you're in denial?" he laughed sarcastically. He knew what he saw and no one could deny it although Hermione already told him that no kiss happened. Still, he just wanted to see how Harry would react plus he really doubts that Harry doesn't feel anything for his friend. He described everything he saw, the location, how it happened and their positions. Then watched with satisfaction how the smirk on his face vanished and replaced by glare and blushing cheeks "You remember now?" it was his turn to smirk.

He was astonished at how Malfoy described everything so exactly which made it harder for him to deny what happened. He did his best to hide his astonishment but it was obvious that he's been caught "How did you know all those?" his voice was low.

"I was… watching from the top of the Astronomy Tower" he replied casually. He half expected Harry would go wild and start a fist fight or something as violent, but he did not.

"So you were" he put on a smirk and faced him "What else should I expect? Almost forgot you're a Slytherin" his tone was sarcastic "And one more thing, I do not" he paused, his face serious "think I'm Hermione's boyfriend. We talked about this already. That's why you better tell me now if you DO like her in the kind of way we're thinking then we'll know what to look forward to"

"Pardon? Look _forward _to?" he narrowed his eyes "You're not even going to ask her if she… say if she likes me. What if she's just being civil to me because I brought her to the Hospital Wing?"

"Well, based on what I saw, she doesn't hate you anymore" he stated earnestly.

Draco rolled his eyes and snorted. You have no idea what happened in that classroom, he thought remembering their shouting match and how red her face was with fury.

"I want her to be happy" he went on "and forget Timo… er that Muggle. Maybe, just maybe if you two like each other then she'd forget about him"

What Harry said really got to him "So you want me to make her forget that stupid creature?" he snapped through gritted teeth "And what? Live happily ever after? That's lame Potter" he scowled "You're talking to a Malfoy here. Not to some…stupid bloke. Do you actually expect I'll be her prince charming?"

"No I wasn't asking you to be prince charming for her. I just want to make sure you won't be like him, that's all…" the other said calmly, staring out to the skies. The wind was blowing on their faces.

"Like what I said earlier, I don't know exactly how I feel for her but…I'll give you my answer after the holidays, I have to think things through"

"Until then" Harry gave a nod and turned his back to leave.

He slapped his forehead when the Gryffindor left. He felt more confused than ever in his life.

----------

"Mum, please don't let dad take me home" she pleaded. Mr. Granger was having a word with Professor Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey regarding his daughter's situation.

"Oh I don't know…you know your dad…" she trailed off "I mean I do know and understand how you feel. I'll try to talk your father out of it, okay?" she said soothingly.

Hermione nodded and looked up to see her dad approaching them, his expression grim.

"They said it would be bad for her if she comes home this weekend. She'll have to stay here and heal all her injuries" he addressed his wife avoiding his daughter's eyes and then turned towards the exit "Get well soon. We'll be leaving now" he added stiffly.

"Why are you like that?" she asked suddenly and he faced her "Why are you doing this to me? I thought you understood me. I'm a witch dad and that is the reason why Timothy dumped me. I tried to explain but…but he wouldn't listen" tears were already falling from the corners of her eyes.

"We're not going through this again. After you graduate, you'll go back to London and go to college"

"But I don't want to. You both know that, mom… dad."

"We'll talk about this when she finishes her studies here" Mrs. Granger spoke to her husband. "For now, we have to go" she said firmly before turning to Hermione. "We'll send you letters" she promised kissing her forehead.

"Goodbye" she mumbled before lying back down and pulling the covers over her head.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter7**

A day before the classes temporarily closed, Draco received a letter from his mother, Narcissa, saying he has to come home immediately but no reason was stated in her letter. He submitted a letter to their head of house asking permission to go home a day earlier before everyone else does and was permitted immediately by Professor Snape.

He packed his bags and sent the big ones ahead which left him his knapsack. It was only 5:30 A.M.

Hermione on the other hand, was still confined in the school clinic. All the students who were also confined were packing their bags for the next day. She was the only one in there who wasn't going home. Since the day her parents visited her, she knew almost everyone who witnessed that "_drama_" are whispering about her. Harry, Ron and Ginny told her they won't be going home for Christmas to be able to spend it with her since she'd be confined until the new years' eve.

Before going home, he made a quick stop in the Hospital Wing to visit Hermione. Since that wee-hours-of-the-night visit he made, he never returned partly because he was busy and didn't know how he'll explain if ever she had already read the paper he left. Until that very moment, he was still bemused to why he left it with her.

"Morning" he greeted as he walked up to her in a casual manner.

She looked up from the book she was reading and nodded back then closed it. He noticed her injured arm was in a cast already. Like the time he visited, he pulled a chair to her side for him to sit on. She watched him silently waiting what he would say.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing much" she replied with a shrug, peering at her watch which read 5:51 A.M. "It's quite early" she remarked.

"I know. I wanted to visit you before the holidays" he tossed an apple over to her and waited till she caught it before biting into his own "I'll be going home after this because my mother wanted me to"

She did not ask him about it and just nodded again because she believes it's really not her business.

"Well, Happy Holidays then" she smiled then reached for something under her pillow "Here. Looks like you dropped it again but…I…" her cheeks started to turn pink "I… I sort of read it"

"Oh, I see" he took the paper from her and unfolded it. His face was expressionless "I wrote it just a few weeks ago" he told her, catching a glimpse of her face "You can have it" he put the paper on her bed and pushed it to her.

"But…" she tried to say.

"It's yours now" he insisted "By the way" he changed the subject right away "Heard your parents visited you here"

"You did, huh?" she sighed heavily before taking a bite of her apple.

"Couldn't help it. A lot of people were talking about it, how they got mad at you and all"

"Talk about embarrassing" she rolled her eyes, wanting to stay in the clinic forever and burry her face inside her comforter.

"I don't think it's THAT embarrassing though"

"Really? Well, thanks"

"Hey, I didn't say that just to make you feel better. That's what I really think. Besides, wouldn't it be more embarrassing if it happened somewhere else like the Great Hall?"

"Guess you're right" her voice was muffled. Then she faced him "My friends visited me yesterday, Harry and Ginny. They said something really odd"

"Odd?"

"Yeah, they told me its okay if I become friends with you and… they were acting really weird"

"Same here" he smirked "Parkinson told me something like that too"

"I don't know what their up to. It's quite funny, really, because…come to think of it, Harry and Ron doesn't like you and here he is saying all those things" she said thoughtfully.

"Didn't know you were so honest" he remarked sarcastically then grinned at her.

"I'm honest _most_ of the time" she grinned back putting extra indication on the word 'most'

"I'm not" he declared and her reply made him laugh "I know" she laughed too.

"Anyway I need to go now. See you after the break" he waved at her before leaving.

----------

He closed the door carefully, feeling a smile creeping to his lips. He was proud he was able to give her the poem he wrote without all the mush. Too bad she did not know it was really intended for her "She'll know someday" he sighed to himself and walked ahead. Just before he walked away, Pansy's voice came from behind him "So, you have been visiting her!" she grinned at him teasingly. He turned around and saw she was not alone, Blaise stood beside her clapping his hands lightly "You didn't tell us you're…"

"Shut up" he hissed, hurrying towards them "What are you doing here anyway?"

"We heard you were leaving and someone tipped us… that you were here" she glanced at the door to the clinic before turning back to him.

"I am leaving. Mother sent me a letter, requesting for me to come home today"

"Is there anything wrong?" they asked him.

"She didn't say anything…I guess she just misses her gorgeous son"

The two just rolled their eyes and walked with him back to the Slytherin Tower.

----------

Later that day, her friends went to visit her again. They brought her some food so they could eat while having a chat. The assistant Healer was on a break too since the students would be going home the next day. And Madame Pomfrey was in a hurry to have the clinic all to her self again even if it's just over the holiday.

Ginny sat beside Hermione and began combing her hair "How're things between you and Malfoy?"

"What do you mean? And just what exactly are you three up to?" she asked back suspiciously, peering at each of them "you've been acting weird and…"

"We're not up to anything Hermione" Harry assured her.

"Yeah, we're just curious" Ron added.

"Hmm… he visited me early this morning. He said he's going home today because his mom wanted him to" she started "And… that's all!"

"What?!" the siblings reacted loudly which caused the nurse to shush them "That's all?" they lowered their voices.

"Yup" she nodded "Should there be anything else?"

"N…no! It's just that you tell us so little about you and him" Ron protested the other two just laughed.

"That's because there's nothing to tell" she excused but they did not believe her.

"Look, you two don't want your love lives interrogated too, don't you? So I suggest we stop prying" said Harry pretending to be innocent. She abruptly turned her head in his direction, narrowing her eyes. For a second there, Harry thought she'll curse him but she didn't.

"I don't have a love life and there's nothing to pry about" she said with much firmness in her voice. They just shrugged and stood up "I need to go" he said "I still have a last meeting with the Quidditch team and… don't be so defensive 'mione" he winked at her "You're too much in denial"

She opened her mouth to snap at him but no words came out. Seeing Hermione's expression, the two followed him immediately telling her they have to attend the meeting also.

----------

"Where's my mother?" he asked one of the house elves. The manor was dark and quiet when he arrived. Only the fireplace was the source of light.

"She visited Master Lucius in Azkaban, young master. She left just an hour ago"

"She left? That's strange. She said she's expecting me" he muttered to his self and took a deep breath "Where are my bags?" he asked again.

"In your room, young master"

"Fine. I'll go ahead. Inform me when she arrives"

"Yes young master" the elves bowed as low as they could while he went up the stairs. He opened the door to his bedroom and found his bags by the foot of his bed. He walked to the window to tie the curtains so the sunlight would come in then sat on one of the sofas (there were two in his room). He wondered why Narcissa wanted him to come home that day. Was there an emergency? Or maybe she just wanted to cook for him that day like what she said in her letter. He stood up and started unpacking his trunk. He wanted to keep his self busy while waiting for his mother. An hour later, he fell asleep with a book covering his face. By the time he woke up, the skies were getting darker already. He sat up, yawning and looking around until his eyes stopped at the door. A house elf was standing there holding a tray of food while watching him. The sight scared him a bit. The house elf looked similar to Dobby because of the blood shot eyes and of course the tattered clothes which every house elf had in common.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned, rubbing his eyes.

"This is your dinner, sir. Mistress Narcissa told us to prepare your food on time but you did not wake up this lunch so this is your supper, young master"

"She's home?" he looked up hopefully.

"No sir, not yet"

"What?" he yelled. The elf almost dropped the tray but held on to it tightly.

"Not yet home?" he stood up staring down at the shaking elf "It's already 7:15pm! What exactly did she tell you before she left?" he was staring to worry. His mom had never been that late in coming home before unless there's an order from the Dark Lord. But she would usually send him a note she makes it a point to do so. Plus, it was her who wanted him to be home a day earlier before their break. He asked the elf to leave and he ate his dinner in his room. He was planning to owl his aunt Bella after dinner just in case the Dark Lord _had_ given her a task. Or if she's still in Azkaban, he'll set out to fetch her. Finally deciding that he'll fetch her, he set his tray on the table beside his bed and ran downstairs two steps at time and calling for a house elf "Armand!" his voice was loud "Armand! Bring me my traveling cloak, the black one". The elf who served him earlier came running to him with the cloak he asked for. Draco grabbed the coat from him and wore it hurriedly. He reached for the door but was having a hard time opening it. It was locked. Armand and another elf behind him were trying to tell him not to go out because their Mistress firmly instructed them to keep him in the manor.

"What do you mean?" he turned to them "And why is this door locked?" he demanded.

"That's what Mistress told us and she instructed us not to let you leave the house until she comes back" Armand replied. They were terrified of what their 'Young Master' could do "She murmured something before she left"

"Murmured something?" he repeated tried to open the door again. this time, he drew out his wand and pointed it at the door "Alohomora" he said loudly but nothing happened. He tried again but still nothing happened. He tried to use another kind of spell he read from a certain book but it was just the same. Then he realized that his mother had locked the door from inside which meant no one can open the door from inside and it had to be from the outside only. The windows were locked as well. "Darned it!" he yelled again kicking the door which he regretted because it only hurt his feet. He was starting to think that something is wrong, he could feel it inside him. He tried to apparate out of the house to no avail. Even portkey wouldn't work. He just felt so helpless at that time and he hated it so much. Returning to his room, he asked Armand for an owl. He was going to owl his Aunt and Professor Snape. He opened the drawer by his bed and pulled out an ink bottle, quill and a piece of paper. He was in the middle o his letter when someone knocked on the door. "Who's there?" he asked.

"Draco, It's Professor Snape" he heard the voice of Hogwarts' Potions Master from the other side of the door. He opened it immediately and let his Professor in. He motioned him to sit down and he sat too. "What brings you here, professor? I was about to owl you…"

"No need to address me that way. But…I was sent here to tell you something… something really important…it's about Lucius and Narcissa" he declared trying to be calm.

"Ah yes, my mother… I've been looking for her since I arrived. She was the one who sent me a letter to come home and… and she's not here. I wanted to go and fetch her but I couldn't get out. She locked the doors, even the windows were locked and I tried to apparate and use portkey but none of it would work. I'm actually starting to get worried so I was about to owl you and… and…" his voice sounded desperate that the older man was having a hard time to break the news to him. "Could you help me? Look for her?"

"Draco" he started, taking a deep breath "She's dead. She and your father both committed suicide early this evening… around 6:30pm"

He did not speak for a few minutes after hearing what Snape said. He was just staring at the floor, the paper in his hand crumpled. He did not know how he'll react; it's as if everything had crashed upon him. "Pardon? Could you repeat what you said?" tears were falling from his grey eyes "Please?"

"They're gone"

"But she just owled me this morning!" he reasoned out stubbornly, blinking back the tears.

"C'mon. I need you to come with me. We'll go to the Headmaster's office. You have to be there before twelve midnight. It's 10pm so let's go"

He raised his head to look at Snape. A flashback was going on inside his head. It went back to September _"Are you really that thick?"_ his own words echoed inside his head_. People around were laughing. He was embarrassing Hermione in front of the school again._ Next, was during October when he got stuck at the top of the Astronomy Tower with Hermione again _"Uh-uh! You're wrong! I wasn't THINKING I was more like HOPING"_ he was referring to her jumping out of the window. His parents committed _suicide…suicide._ "How did they die?" his voice was barely above a whisper, scared that everything Snape said was real and not just a nightmare.

"Well, they used a certain kind of magic but we could not trace it. As of this moment, their bodies are in St. Mungo's. The healers there are trying to find out what magic they used to… to take their own lives. The results will come out by 12 midnight that is why we should hurry. You'll be alright in the Headmaster's office. Your bags are packed now". Draco turned to look at his bed. The clothes he unpacked were back inside his trunk and ready to go. With in a second, they were sent back to Hogwarts. "Armand" he called and the house elf arrived "I'll be leaving. Take charge while I'm not home, I'll be your new Master now…" he paused, blinking back his tears "Lucius and Narcissa are dead". Armand's huge eyes widened after hearing what he said but did not ask anymore question. He simply bowed until they left.

They headed out and apparated back to Hogwarts. When they arrived, Dumbledore was in his office, apparently, waiting for them. Draco sat in front of his desk and Snape left.

He looked around the office, most of the portraits were empty while the others were asleep. He remained silent, thinking about everything that happened for the past few hours. His parents are dead, they committed suicide. But there were still so many questions going on inside his head. He closed his eyes tightly, his hands grasping his head.

"How are you taking everything?" Dumbledore spoke to him "Perhaps not so well" he answered his own question "I do not think you'll believe me if I say _I know how you feel._" He stared at him through his half moon spectacles as if reading him.

"It's my fault" he mumbled, pounding his fist on the desk before him "My fault"

"No. It was not your fault. You should not blame yourself…it was their decision…you had nothing to do with it"

"Yes it was! I should have…should have…" he left his sentence hanging because he too didn't know what he could have done to stop what had happened.

The old man smiled faintly, understanding the younger one's foul mood due to grief. "It would be best if you stay here during holidays. The order is here to help you with everything you need. Meanwhile… St. Mungos promised the results regarding your parents' death will be out by tonight"

He just nodded in appreciation. "Why…why did they do it?" he asked quietly.

"They haven't told you? Yesterday, the Ministry had decided to imprison Narcissa in Azkaban for life and Lucius got a death sentence. They tried to appeal but the minister won't change his decision. Apparently, there's a request from other ministers that all of Voldemort's followers shall be either imprisoned or sentenced to death"

He fell silent once again. More questions were clouding up his mind. How could they? He thought. They committed suicide because of it? Didn't they even think about their son… their _only_ son? It was them being selfish. Didn't they love him? Sure, his dad took his life but why his mom? Were they thinking he'd be okay as long as he's left with all that gold and properties? He refused to continue thinking. Everything has changed.

Pansy was about to go down the stairs, returning to their common room when a hand covered her mouth and captured her arms with its other hand. She couldn't move so, in a swift motion, she stepped on her captor's foot and cocked her head upward to hit its chin as hard as she could. The moment she was released, she grabbed her wand and aimed it quickly on her captor only to find her friend, Blaise. He was wiping his bleeding nose and then grinned at her playfully, pushing his short curly hair backwards. She was a bit shocked to see it was just him all along but grinned back anyway. She continued to go down the stairs after mumbling something like an apology to him.

"Hey, Parkinson" Blaise ran up to her "Why are you alone?"

"I just came from somewhere. And you?" she asked back, facing him.

"C'mon, you know where I came from" he smirked at her. It has been two weeks since he started going out with Daphne Greengrass, one of his classmates and Pansy's acquaintances.

"I just wanted to hear it from you" she said and walked ahead of him "By the way, aren't you curious why he went home? He said his mother wanted him to go home…" she trailed off.

"There's no need to be so serious" he told her, tapping on her shoulder and ruffling her hair before running ahead.

"I'll get you for that" she said darkly and ran after him. She was able to catch up with him and instantly held on to his necktie so he could no longer run away "Hah! Caught you" she chuckled with a nasty look in her eyes. But both abruptly stopped when they saw who was standing outside the common room. It was their head of house, Professor Snape, his arms crossed and his hair covered his face more than the usual.

"Uh-oh" they both looked down to the floor. Pansy released Blaise's necktie.

"About time" he faced them "You two. Come with me to the Headmaster's office" he started walking away.

"But sir, we didn't do anything to deserve detention" Blaise reasoned out.

"Detention? Who said you're in detention? I just need the two of you to come with me _now_. It's quite urgent. You'll get your explanations later. Where are Crabbe and Goyle?"

"We don't know sir" they replied.

"Never mind. Their not that important"

The two glanced at each other and shrugged. They continued to follow their Professor silently. They were starting to get nervous. When they reached their destination, Snape knocked thrice and the headmaster told them to come in. He opened the door and pushed the two inside before closing it again.

Professor Dumbledore was seating behind his table and Draco was in front of him. His head was resting on the table with his arms serving as a pillow for his head. The atmosphere in the room was rather depressing.

What surprised them was Draco's presence and the way he was so unusually quiet. Plus he did not seem to notice them enter. He looked so…sulky.

"Ah…Mr. Zabini and Miss Parkinson. It's good you two are here" Dumbledore smiled sadly "Let me explain" he added upon seeing their anxious faces "This evening, around 6:30, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy committed suicide"

"Huh?!" they stared horridly at each other and at the Professor to Draco who remained silent. "They…uh…um"

"Yes, yes, I know you two were shocked. But the reason I called you here is I think he needs his friends. You three are friends, right? And friends stick together through tough times" he eyed them one by one through his glasses and smiled faintly, giving them a nod. He stood up and headed for the door "I suppose I can leave you three here for a while" he said and disappeared behind the door.

"Um…we're really sorry to hear that Draco" Pansy said uncertainly "I don't know what I should say…" they pulled their chairs closer to him.

"You don't have to say anything" his voice was hoarse "There's no need"

"We can't just shut up and watch you grieve" Blaise stated in a low voice. He looked up and saw their concerned faces staring back at him. He didn't expect they'd be there with him in a time like of that one. Returning his gaze to the floor, he thanked them quietly. "I feel like…like it was all my fault"

"Of course not!" she exclaimed "Don't say that…"

"It can't be your fault, man. What made you think that?"

"That's what Dumbledore told me… but what if I got home earlier? What if I followed her to Azkaban?" he asked them. Then Blaise spoke, his tone was serious which amazed his friends "Draco, you're full of what ifs. What's done is done. You might hate me for saying this but" he paused and glanced at Pansy "Your parents chose this. They have decided to do what they wanted"

"You don't understand, they were sentenced and…"

"And they had no choice? It can't be a reason" he cut across him "You know that full well"

He had no more to say at that time, Blaise was right no matter how he hated to admit it. The only ones to blame were his parents. He will just have to accept it.

An hour later, the Headmaster returned to his office along with Professor Snape. He told them the result for the tracing of his parents' death was out already. The blonde haired boy sat up straight to listen.

"I'm sorry but the Healers weren't able to find out what magic they used. They are sure it wasn't Avada Kedavra because there was damage inside their body. Now, we need your decision if you still wish that we keep on searching for that magic they used" said Dumbledore.

Draco shook his head "I do not think it is still needed. They're…gone and it won't change. If I'm not mistaken, sir, whatever magic they used is an old magic within the Malfoy family only. I remember my grandfather mentioning something like that a long time ago"

"Well then, I'll order the Healers to stop" he announced turning to Snape who nodded in return.

"Have you decided on their burial? You see, the Hogwarts can help you arrange a small and solemn burial for them"

"Burial?" his eyes were blank "I would like to burry them as soon as possible at the backyard of the Malfoy manor"

"As soon as possible? In the backyard of Malfoy manor?" his friends repeated in aghast. He nodded at them. Even the two professors were shocked with his decision but respected it still.

And at exactly 2:30 in the morning, the bodies were in a black steel casket, brought to the Malfoy manor. They said a small prayer before burying them. Draco did not bother to owl or inform his Aunt Bella because he was sure she wouldn't come otherwise. It would only be natural for her to be deeply ashamed of what her sister did. He was also sure she won't be showing up to him. She would not want to have anything to do with him.

Only the two professors and his two friends were present. The burial was short and solemn. By three o'clock they were heading back to Hogwarts already. Draco went straight to the boys' dormitory and to the room where the seventh year boys slept. He buried him self deep in the comforter and pillows. His eyes tightly shut, trying to stop his falling tears.

With in a few hours, all the students woke up to have their breakfast and leave the school. It was December 22, the start of their holiday vacation. The news about his parents' suicide were around the school. He did not leave the room until 11 o'clock. Most of the students were already gone by that time which means he wouldn't have to go through so much whispering and being stared at like some criminal.

----------

"Do you reckon it's true, Harry?" Ron and Ginny asked him at the same time over breakfast. He lowered his copy of The Daily Prophet and stared at them "Well, it's all over the school, isn't it?"

"Yeah… but…suicide?" she peered at Harry "It's hard to imagine"

"Honestly, I do feel sorry for him" he commented "He might be having a real tough time now" he sighed heavily.

"That's what we think too" Ron agreed.

"Let's go" he stood up "Hermione's probably awake now". Ginny finished her pumpkin juice before following him and her brother out of the hall. The news about the Malfoys' suicide made the front page of the Prophet and it was the talk of the whole school. Everyone found it hard to believe. The Malfoys were one of the greatest pureblood families in the wizarding world. What they did really is a shame.

Hermione was reading a book when they arrived, she had just finished her breakfast. She faced them with a cheerful complexion "Hello" she greeted them "Aren't you going home?"

"We told you. We're staying here so we can celebrate Christmas and New Year with you" Ron told her.

"Well…thanks" she smiled "I've been reading the books you gave me. My mom hadn't sent me a letter since that day…" she trailed off, looking outside the window of the clinic. Her brown eyes were sad but she grinned at them again. "Have you received your copy of The Daily Prophet?" Harry asked anxiously peeking at her reaction.

"No" she shook her head "Any interesting news?"

He lent her his copy of the Prophet, showing her the front page. She slowly took it from his hands and read the headline to herself. She looked up at them for reassurance of the news and they gave a nod. Folding the paper neatly, she returned it to him. She had no reaction at all.

"Well?" they asked her for some reaction.

"What?" she asked back.

"Do you have anything to say?" Harry stared at her through his glasses almost imitating the way Dumbledore stared at his students.

"Nothing, I was taken aback with the headline. Are you sure about this? _Suicide?_"

"That's what it says right there and it's all over the school already" said Ron.

"Right…" she trailed off.

"How are you? And when exactly are you going to be released?" Ginny changed the subject. The two boys stared at her. "I forgot to tell you" she exclaimed all of a sudden cheerful "I'll be released on the 24th!"

"Really? Wow!" the red head girl squealed excitedly "What about your arm brace?"

"I'll have to endure it until the 30th"

"That's great news" said Harry.

"Are you allowed to tale a walk outside or something?" Ron wanted to know.

"If there's permission from Madame Pomfrey, I think"

"Great" he said and headed for her office at once. With in just a few seconds, he returned waving a piece of parchment at them with a grin "Here. This is your pass so you could take a walk with us"

"Thanks" she went to the bathroom to change out of her pajamas.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I realized I forgot to type in my disclaimer and a few authors note in the previous chapters…

The poem I used in chapter 6, the one that is supposed to be written by Draco, is taken from a Japanese song I really like, Konayuki by Remioromen. You could check it out if you want.

Thankfully, no body has taken a legal action on it yet, accusing me of plagiarism or whatever.

So here it is… my disclaimer and story… drum rolls please…

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry potter, I only own this plot

**Chapter8**

He was about to go out when Pansy and Blaise ran up to him and shoved him back inside their room. "Breakfast is over so I just brought you some food" she placed the tray before him.

"Would you believe there are 7 other students staying here for the holidays aside from us?"

"Really? I thought it was just us" said Pansy. He stared at them as they talked. It's as if nothing happened. They did not even mention anything about his parents because they knew he didn't want to talk about it.

"Thanks" he mumbled and ate the breakfast they brought for him. They pretended not to notice his word of thanks.

"Let's take a walk after this, okay?" she told him.

"Sure" he agreed. They called for a house elf to get the tray from Draco when he was done eating and headed outside for a walk. Just like the usual, he walked in between Pansy who was on his left and Blaise on the other side.

"Draco, I'm sorry to ask you this but… Are you okay already?" Pansy asked

"No" he stopped walking and faced them. They were outside, near the lake. The breeze was very cold and it was proven by the smoke coming out from their mouths as they spoke. "I don't know how I should feel right now but I'm definitely not okay with this…with everything that's happening"

"Do you have any plans?" asked the other boy.

"I don't need any. Life goes on right?"

"Oh c'mon, don't act so depressed" Blaise patted his back "We actually envy you"

"Pardon?"

"You're not required to be a Death Eater anymore. You're officially out of the league" he explained with a smirk.

"Right" she nodded "The Dark Lord is no longer interested to have you". The two took turns in explaining to him the laws of the Death Eaters which Lucius and Narcissa broke by taking their own lives.

"Is that supposed to be good news?" he asked them anxiously.

"Of course it is!" they exclaimed in loud voices and their arms on their hips "You have a future now"

He turned away from them and stared out to the lake where some fishes and other creatures were playing. The water was starting to frost already. It's winter time, after all. "A future?" he repeated to himself. He couldn't seem to comprehend what that word meant "Future…" he trailed off before facing them again "So I'm supposed to be lucky now that I'm an orphan…" he said sarcastically "But seriously, I think you're right…I DO have a future now besides being like them."

The three sat on a tree branch which was just two feet away from the ground, facing the lake.

"I really envy you because of that" Pansy told him "I think you're not depressed because your parents left you" she said truthfully. Blaise nudged her to keep quiet but Draco agreed with her "Yeah, I got over that already…it's just that I'm all alone now"

"You know, you may be the so called 'Slytherin Prince' but you sure tend to be an idiot and a prat too" she chuckled. "I agree" the other boy chuckled too.

"An idiot and a prat? In what way?" he demanded "Besides, INEVER claimed the title."

"Oh yeah? You first proclaimed yourself as that back in second year" they reminded him.

"Really?" he looked at them with a surprised expression "I did?"

"Who else will?" she snorted. He laughed a bit, remembering how obnoxious he had been for the past years. And in Hermione's own words, he's a _git_ and a_ bastard._

"We're friends right? Which means you have us, bonds should be stronger than blood now" she told him with a surprising firmness in her voice.

"Fine" he nodded "Bonds are stronger than blood now"

"Bonds are stronger than blood now" the other boy echoed. Draco hopped down and the two followed.

"It's getting colder out here. We'd better go back" he told them patting the dirt off his dark brown coat. The two were doing the same.

----------

Hermione and her friends headed for the pond first to take a look at the creatures swimming but the lake was almost frozen so they headed for Hagrid's house instead for a quick visit then spent most of their time walking around. It was really cold, good thing Ginny reminded them to bring their coats. Hermione was wearing a dark blue coat which Tom gave her. She totally forgot to throw it away along with the necklace. But she still used it since it was a really good one. It kept her warm no matter how cold the weather was.

"Nice coat" Ginny complemented her and she blushed "He gave it to me" she said in a small voice.

"I must say he has a good taste" she raised her brows at the brown haired girl with a smile.

"Yes he has" she admitted still blushing. The two boys faced them with brows raised at Hermione. They were already going back inside through the main entrance since it was far from where they were from and they wanted to walk far too. "That Timothy has good taste in clothing?" Ron repeated.

"Not just that…" she trailed off, her voice uncertain.

"I can say he has good taste in girls too" said Harry and grinned at her "Or maybe not" he wrinkled his nose.

"Gee…thanks Harry. You really are my best friend" she said sarcastically and everyone laughed.

"Anyway, It seems like you really had gotten over that muggle" Ron commented casually.

"Yes. I have gotten over him. I figured out I should enjoy things around me"

"That's good. We're happy for you"

"What's that suppose to mean?" she demanded. "Nothing!" they shook their heads quickly, trying to hide their mischievous grins. "We're just happy for you…that you have moved on."

"Thanks" she smiled "For helping me through my tough times. I've been whining a lot"

"Good you know" the three chorused and laughed again. Hermione joined laughed with them.

----------

"What's that noise?" Pansy turned and saw the golden trio with Ginny Weasley "I didn't know she was released already" she commented. The two boys turned to look at whom she was referring to. "But she still has an arm brace" Blaise added, placing an arm on Draco's right shoulder.

The Slytherins watched them while they were having a good laugh until they went in and disappeared from their sight. "Shall we go back now?" Pansy asked him but he didn't hear her. His eyes were still focused on the spot where they stood a while ago, having a hearty laugh. "Draco, shall we go back now?" she repeated.

"Uhmm" he uttered and went ahead of them. The two followed suit.

The Gryffindors were about to go back to their Common room when Professor McGonagall stopped them, she was with Professor Snape. "Potter, Granger and the two Weasleys, come here for a bit" the teachers were standing by the Great Hall. The students obeyed and went over to them. Snape eyed Hermione's arm "Were you released?" he asked. "No sir. I got a permission to walk around for a bit" she replied.

"I called you four, because, I'd like to inform you about the settings in the Great Hall. Since there are only seven students spending the holidays here in the castle, the Headmaster instructed the house elves to put a round table in the middle. Just one, which means, you'll be sharing with the three other students. Is that okay?"

"Yes Professor. We don't have any problems with it" Harry answered.

"Uh… Professor, who are the other students?" Ginny asked anxiously as she saw the Slytherins approaching.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Zabini and Miss Parkinson" Snape called loudly "Come here" he instructed. They were surprised to see the Gryffindors talking to the two teachers. It made them wonder if they were in trouble.

"They are the other students left here" McGonagall replied.

Harry and the others were taken aback. The Slytherins? Aren't they supposed to be in their homes? , he thought.

"Still no Problems with it, Potter?" Snape raised his brows, smirking.

He swallowed hard and said "None" in a significant voice.

"Professor?" Pansy asked as they approached them. "Miss Parkinson the Great Hall has been rearranged" he informed them "You will share a table with Potter and the Weasleys"

"Any problems?" McGonagall asked. It was her turn to smirk at the Slytherins, including their head of house.

"No professor" Blaise answered. "Good" she nodded "Shall we go now, Severus?"

"Certainly, professor" he nodded in return, making sure to address her as an elder. She gave him a glare before walking ahead and he followed.

----------

"We're sorry to hear about your parents" Harry said when the teachers left "It was unexpected"

"It was" Draco agreed and looked inside the Great Hall to see what the teachers were referring to. Inside the hall, was a large round table with a lazy Susan on top, good for 8 people.

"Anyway, we'd better get going" he bid them goodbye and left.

"Have you been discharged?" Pansy couldn't take her curiosity any longer. "Not yet" Hermione replied "I need to wait until the 24th. Bye" she said and followed her friends.

"You're in speaking terms with her?" Blaise asked.

Meanwhile… Ron asked her the same question. "No" she said "She was the one who asked me first".

They walked her back to the Hospital Wing, promising they'll be back after lunch. "Have fun" she winked at them meaningfully and entered.

----------

"Lunch, dinner, breakfast and snacks all with the Gryffindors, huh?" Pansy said lazily as she sat by the fire place in their common room "Unacceptable or acceptable?"

"Acceptable!" Blaise raised his right hand in the air "Maybe it won't be that bad…"

"Maybe" she sighed "What do you think?" she turned to the blonde haired boy who sat in a corner with a magazine on his lap. He was so focused on it that he didn't hear her "Huh?" he blinked at her "What?"

"You weren't listening at all…" she stood up and headed to him "What's that you're reading, anyway?" she took a peek at his magazine but wasn't able to see what was inside because he closed it quickly. He hid the magazine under his sweatshirt and stood up "N…nothing!" he exclaimed, his face a bit red "I'm tired" he faked a yawn and went up to his room.

He hurried to his room and closed the door. He couldn't let anyone see his magazine, especially them. Only one person knows about that interest of his; Hermione Granger. He took a deep breath and sighed heavily. He took out the magazine from under his sweatshirt and stared at its cover. Then, he went over to his bed and laid down without taking his eyes off the cover page for 10 whole minutes. It was the last magazine he bought which was all about gore, from books to movies as long as it was about gore. It's an ultimate guide for those who loves gore, like him. He bought it from a shop in muggle London back in summer. He sat up straight and scanned the pages for the 28th time since he bought it. He still felt fascinated even though he had finished reading it a long time ago. On the last page, he thought he saw a glimpse of Hermione's face but when he blinked, her image disappeared. Then he remembered they'll be sharing tables with the remaining students who happened to be the Gryffindors. He sighed again. "This is going to be awkward…" he trailed off and went to the bathroom for a quick shower.

----------

"How was your walk outside, dear?" Madame Pomfrey asked as she gave Hermione her lunch; thick chicken soup and wheat bread. "It was nice and cold outside" she replied "Um is there a letter for me?"

"Sorry but there's none" she said and left. "Oh…thanks" she forced a smile once more and finished her food. She was wondering whether her parents are still mad at her "They'll forgive me" she assured herself. After lunch, she opened a book to read but found it hard to understand. Closing the book, she stood up and stared out of the window. The snow was falling already and she shuddered. She saw Draco's vague reflection on the glass of the window so she instinctively turned to see if he was really behind her. But she did not see anyone except for the school nurse working in her office. Somehow, she felt relieved that he was doing okay after what happened. He didn't seem to be so down after all. His face looked fine and he did not look like he was crying all night. But then, it'd be hard to imagine Draco Malfoy crying, she giggled to her self as she tried in vain to picture a sobbing Draco.

Dinner time; December 23rd, they gathered around the table to have their meal. The atmosphere was still awkward. And just like the other meals, no one talked. Draco would only join them during breakfast and dinner. Otherwise he'd be wandering in the castle or simply locked inside their room for the rest of the day that even Blaise has to knock several times just to be allowed to enter.

They would hurry to finish their food and then left as quickly as possible. Everything was just going usual until the desert came. "How's Granger?" Pansy asked. All three Gryffindors stared at her from across the table "She's doing fine" said Harry who straightened his shoulders "What made you ask?"

"I was just…curious" she drawled glancing sideways at Draco. They were all silent again.

Ginny cleared her throat and spoke "There's a late Christmas dinner tomorrow" she paused, taking a spoon of her pudding. "It'd be around 10 to 11pm. Professor McGonagall told me about it just before dinner"

"And did she say it's for everyone?" Blaise asked with sarcasm in his voice. The red head girl turned to him "Of course it is. It came from the Headmaster himself and everyone is required to attend."

Ron glared at him but did not say anything. Harry as usual, was just watching silently.

"We'll be there" said Draco "Thanks for telling us"

"No problem" Ginny replied and they continued eating as if it was normal that Draco was being 'cooperative'.

"I'm back!" Hermione exclaimed happily the next day. It was only 7 in the morning. Her friends woke up 6 o'clock sharp to be able to meet her. Ron and Harry helped her carry some of her things which were mostly books they brought to her. "Welcome" they greeted her warmly.

"I've been too excited to be released since last night" she grinned "I was just so sick of the Hospital Wing"

"We know what you mean" the three agreed. They understood how she felt since they themselves have been going in and out of the school clinic due to Quidditch injuries they sustained.

"Have you had breakfast?" Ron asked.

"Not yet. I'll just finish fix my things then let's go down for breakfast, okay?" she ran to her room with Ginny and hurried to fix her things then headed back to the common room to meet up with them "I'm done!"

"Ok let's go" said the two boys and left the common room to eat.

When they arrived, no one was there yet. Hermione sat immediately and started eating as they chatted chirpily.

"How were your meals?" she asked inquiringly.

"Pretty quiet" the other girl replied eyeing her friend as she reached for two croissants and a slice of cheese. Then Hermione blushed "I really missed eating breakfast here and croissants because all I ate in the Hospital Wing were soups and porridge with wheat bread"

"So you regret eating just half of your croissant?" Ron smirked and she nodded "Sort of…but this is the only time I'll eat two and then I'll just eat one tomorrow"

"If you say so…" he shrugged and reached for his second serving of bacon and eggs.

"My parents haven't written me a letter since that day" she told them in a low voice "I can't help but wonder if they're mad at me" her shoulders were slouched.

"They can't be mad at you. I'm sure they aren't" Harry assured her "Stop thinking about it"

"He's right. You're worrying yourself too much. It's not like you committed a sin"

"I guess so" she mumbled and drank her tea.

"Hermione, I forgot to tell you! We're having a late Christmas dinner tomorrow" Ginny informed her "Everyone's going to be there" she added "Which includes the professors, I think"

"Late Christmas dinner?" she repeated "I wasn't expecting that"

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"Wake up you two!" Pansy called from the bottom of the stairs to the boys' dormitory "Would you prefer if I go up there and kick your asses?"

"No thanks" Blaise called back and after a few minutes, he came down wearing a sweatshirt and jogging pants "Geez Parkinson, it's only half past 7!" he complained sitting on a sofa near the fireplace to wait for Draco.

"Draco!" she yelled impatiently "Hurry up!"

"What are you hurrying us for?" he snapped, descending from the stairs. He too was wearing a sweatshirt and jogging pants. "Breakfast is only until 8!" she reminded them. The two boys realized this and hurried too. They forgot that breakfast is only until 8 while lunch and dinner are limited up to two hours only.

"What if I didn't wake you two?" she said out loud "You should be grateful to me"

"Fine, we are extremely grateful to you. Happy?"

"No" she shook her head and left them behind.

"She's probably hungry" Draco suspected "Everyone's in a foul mood once they're hungry"

"Yeah, yeah"

As they neared the hall, they heard voices and giggles from inside it. "So they have reached here first" Blaise said and entered the hall with Pansy. Draco was a bit behind them.

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"Shut up" Hermione snapped to Ron and then giggled "I wasn't that awful!" she insisted. They were till busy laughing over some joke Ron told them when suddenly, a couple of owls came soaring down at them.

"Whoa!" Ron almost jumped out of his seat as an owl landed right in front of him and same with his sister. It was only Hermione who had no elf for her.

"What's this?" Harry asked and the brown owl placed a medium sized a package before him but the owl took off quickly after snatching the remaining toast on his plate.

That was the time when the Slytherins entered. There were also owls waiting in their seats except for Draco.

Harry opened his package and saw it was full of home made cookies and other sweets. There was also a note on the top. "Dear Harry, it's a big box so you can share it with Hermione. Happy Holidays! Eat up!" he read it aloud and glanced at Hermione. "She said it's our share" he told her "Molly".

"Oh? Wow! It's so nice of her…" she slowly reached for the box and observed it. "Ron, what do you suggest I can get for your mom this year?"

"Huh?" he staggered. He wasn't able to hear her clearly because he immediately busied his self with the cookies "Anything will do" he muttered and she rolled her eyes "Fine…I'll try to think of something" she decided and stood up. Pansy and Blaise approached them "So you got released already, huh?"

"Yes" she nodded "I am" she smiled a bit and turned to Harry "I'll get going. I've some stuff to do"

"Yeah sure, here, bring this with you" he gave her the box and she took it "I'll be in the common room only" she waved at them before leaving. She was about to exit when Draco entered "Oh hey… um hi…"

He was bit surprised to see her "Hi" he greeted back "Morning" he peered behind her and saw the Gryffindors finishing off their breakfast "Good Morning" she told him and headed out "See you later, I guess…"

Later that lunch, Hermione was a bit shocked when she found out Draco doesn't eat until dinner. Pansy explained that he prefers to be alone and he'll only eat when he's hungry. She also said that Draco spent his time locked up inside his room or reading some books by the fireplace.

"Oh…" she murmured "By the way, what are we suppose to wear for the late Christmas dinner later?" she looked at the people around the table, waiting for an answer.

"Something formal I guess" said Ginny "Or your best clothes"

"Really!?" Pansy squealed unexpectedly. Her eyes were wide with excitement then Blaise commented that it wasn't likely of her to react that way over a something like that. But she did not pay attention to him because she was already daydreaming. She could imagine her self wearing different kinds of clothes and projecting herself in front of a camera. "Best clothes?" she repeated after her daydream "Seriously?"

"Uh…yes" Ginny replied. They were quite bewildered with her reaction. Is Parkinson really like this? They turned to the other boy who seemed to understand the question in their eyes. But he too was bewildered with the way she's acting all of a sudden. She suddenly stood up and announced she's full before leaving dramatically which left everyone gaping at her including her friend.

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"C'mon Draco, let's go" said the dark haired boy. "It's almost time."

"I'm almost done" he called back. He checked his reflection for the second time. He was wearing a black suit paired with black leather shoes. His hair was not gelled back. He opened the door and saw Blaise leaning on the wall right outside their room, tapping his foot on the floor. He wore a grey suit and dark brown crocodile skinned shoes. "How do I look?" he wiggled his brows at Draco who simply smirked at him and patted his left shoulder before heading for the stairs. When they got down, Pansy wasn't there yet so they called her. A few minutes later, she came down hurriedly, wearing a dark green dress just above her knees with grey pumps and black stockings "I'm ready!" she exclaimed breathlessly. She did not put a lot of make up on.

"Aren't you too dressed up?" Blaise asked. "Shut up!" she snapped giving him a glare and headed out before them.

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"Hermione! Hurry up!" Ron called from down stairs then complained to Harry "What's taking them so long?"

"I'm helping her with her arm brace" Ginny called back "It's hard to wear clothes when you've got an arm brace you know"

"Then don't wear any-" his was not able to continue what he was saying because Harry covered his mouth and whacked his head "Be patient Ron"

"Whatever" he muttered and sat on one of the chairs instead while Harry waited by the foot of the stairs of the girls' dormitories. Exactly five minutes later, the two girls came down, all dressed up. Both girls looked pretty in their clothes. "Let's go" Harry grinned at them and helped them down the stairs. It was just ten minutes to 10pm so they hurried towards the Great Hall. "I had a hard time putting on this dress because of this brace" she told him. "The effort paid off. You look good in that grey dress" he told her "You too Ginny" he turned to the red head girl who was walking beside her brother "That gold top looks nice on you"

"Thanks Harry" the girls chorused "You look handsome too". He was wearing a dark grey suit with black snake skinned shoes while Ron wore a white tuxedo and brown leather shoes.

"Actually, Ron looks good too if he wasn't so impatient in waiting for us" Hermione said laughingly. Her dress was a sleeveless one which flowed a bit below her knees. It looked perfect with her silver peep toes. And for her hair, she just pinned a clip with ruby and emerald stones on it. Ginny, on the other hand, wore a white skirt with a gold sequined top tucked in and black pumps.

By the time they arrived, the Slytherins were just about to enter the hall. "Looks like we're just in time" said Blaise. When they entered, the hall seemed different than how it looked just a few hours ago. There were small red, green and gold lights. There were four Christmas trees located in each corner of the hall, decorated completely, with an angel on the top of each tree. There were also mistletoes just above the round table where they usually eat. The presence of Christmas was deeply felt inside the hall because of the decorations. There were also Christmas songs being played at the back ground by a string orchestra.

"This is beautiful" everyone breathed amusedly.

"What's with all the mistletoes?" Ron questioned "Are we like supposed to kiss each other or something?"

"That's gross… but I won't mind…" Blaise answered with a straight-face.

"No, you dummies…" said Hermione slowly "It's just part of the decorations"

"Where are the professors?" Pansy asked no one in particular walking over to the table. She found a note there so she got it and started to read it out loud, enough for everyone to hear. "Dear students" she started "We, professors won't be joining you because we have some business to attend to and this is really just for the students who are staying in for the holidays. We do hope you enjoy yourselves tonight" she paused to see if everyone was listening to here "Sincerely, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore" she scanned the note and saw P.S. at the bottom so she read it aloud too "P.S. Happy Holidays and you all look good" she looked around to see if someone was aside from them was there. How could the Headmaster know they are all dressed up? Then, she remembered the answer; Seeing orb!

"Well, I guess we'll just have to go on and eat" said Ron. They all sat in their seats, still looking around, amused at the decorations. "The house elves probably worked hard for this" Hermione sighed.

The appetizer was first served which was Caesar salad. Then 15 minutes later, the main course was served; well done steak with pasta and red wine. And last, was dessert; a selection of chocolate cake, a fruit cake or an apple pie with whip cream over it. The whole dinner lasted for more than an hour.

The sitting arrangement was as it follows: Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Pansy, Blaise and Draco. There was an empty chair in between Harry and Draco for some unknown reason.

"Malfoy" started Harry "I would like to pay my respects to your parents' grave… er… if you don't mind that is". Draco stared at him for a few seconds before answering "Sure Potter, after the New Year, perhaps?"

"That would be fine" said Harry. He reached his hand over to Draco for a handshake and he took it. Everyone stared from him to Harry and vice versa, they all thought there was something wrong with what's going on in front of them.

"Okay, that was odd…" Blaise and Ginny commented at the same time.

"What's so odd? It was just a handshake" the blonde haired Slytherin told him and the dark haired Gryffindor agreed "Indeed, it was just being formal".

"So does this mean you guys are in good terms now?" Hermione asked suddenly after taking a sip of her red wine and looked at them expectantly "Hmm?"

"Or is this just good for tonight?" Pansy chimed in.

"I think its better being formal with each other, right?" Blaise looked at the two archenemies. The two paused and thought about it carefully "Well, yes. It does seem better this way" Harry finally said and the other nodded "it does". "That's nice especially it's already Christmas" Ginny announced. They could hear the clock starting to strike 12 midnight. "Merry Christmas!" the girls exclaimed in unison. The mistletoes turned into gold dust and showered over them even the Christmas trees started to glow brightly. It was unexpected for them. They all stood from their seats, enjoying the sudden entertainment. They remained there until 1 in the morning, talking and cracking up jokes as they consumed bottles of wine. The gold dust and the glowing Christmas trees lasted till they left the hall.

They bid their goodnights and greetings before heading back to their houses.

"That was…"

"Unforeseen" Ginny finished for her brother. "Well, yes. It was" he said.

"It feels good to settle everything once and for all" Harry told them "What do you think Hermione?"

"Uh…yes it is nice to settle things" she nodded absentmindedly. She saw how he looked and he may seem normal to everyone but she saw the dark circles around his eyes and his cheeks a bit sunken. It's funny how she noticed it and the others didn't. Thinking about how his face looked made her blush.

"Hermione, we're here" Ginny waved a hand in front of her "Aren't you the one who always says the password?". She stared at Ginny. Harry was already climbing through the portrait whole "Sorry, I got a little tipsy with all the wine" she excused and entered then the siblings followed.

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"Granger looked pretty in her dress" Blaise commented and waited for his friend's reaction.

"The Weaslette did too" Pansy answered for Draco who was being quiet again since the time they got back from the Great Hall. "I wonder how Daphne will react once she hears about the way you've been staring at her"

"Oh c'mon Parkinson, that's an old taunt already. You know I wasn't looking at her" he gave her his most 'adorable' smile. "Yeah right" she rolled her eyes and snorted "Goodnight you two" she said and went straight to her room.

"Aren't you going to sleep too?"

"Uh…no, not yet. I'll stay here for a bit. Go ahead"

"If you say so" he shrugged and left Draco. Once again, he was deep in thought about many things which suddenly came to his mind when he saw Hermione that night. Wasn't it just a few weeks ago when he brought her up to the Hospital Wing after their massive and loud argument? And then he visited her afterwards. They talked and somehow enjoyed each others company. He wasn't so sure though if she did enjoy it in a way. He smiled a bit, staring at the fire just like what he had done when he was arguing with his self if he should visit her or not. Thinking about the past events made it seem so far away. With all the events that occurred? He gave out a deep sigh and sat on a couch.

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The next day, everything was back to normal except for the relations between the two groups. They would greet each other out of formality and hold small talks during meals. They greeted each other Merry Christmas just like the night before. Even Draco was back to his usual ways, joining them only for breakfast and dinner. At first, Hermione didn't mind it since his friends said it was normal. But as days passed, it started to bother her. What's he thinking? Is he still depressed about it? It was already December 29 and he was still like that. He even skipped dinner last night and the other night. Is he really okay? She wondered to herself. Her friends and the Slytherins noticed she was worrying too much for him. "He's doing fine" Pansy assured her when her friends left "You don't have to worry so much". "I'm not" she managed to say "I… I'm not worried"

"If that's what you insist" the dark haired girl shrugged and left her too. She trudged back to their common room and found herself alone there. The weather was really cold that day that's why she sat in front of the fireplace to warm herself. The fireplace has been a favorite spot lately. She still wore her arm brace and had gotten quite used to it. She stood up and headed for the stairs, it was indeed a lazy day, so she wanted to take a nap. But the portrait whole opened out of the blue which took her by surprise. She almost lost her balance on the stairs. Ron and Harry entered and saw her "Whoa! You alright?" they asked.

"I was just surprised" she told them and noticed the large box Ron was holding in his arms. Both boys were smiling. "What's in that box?"

"It's a package from Fred and George. They said it's a Christmas gift but can only be used on the New Year" the red head boy replied as he set the package on the small table "It's heavy"

"Can only be used on New Year?" she repeated then her eyes widened "Oh no, that can't be…" she came down and joined them "It can't be, can it?" her eyes were shining.

"It is" Harry confirmed her thoughts "Different kinds of Fire works". Ron opened the box for her to see. "No way!" she gushed "All these? What about…"

"Permission?" Harry cut across her and pulled something out of his pocket "I got one from Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall" he showed her the permission slip "We showed them everything inside this box and they said they're allowing us to light these"

"For real?" she squealed "Are these safe? I mean they came from the twins and…"

"It's safe" Ron told her "We'll light it on the 31st."

"They also sent 3 dozen of sparklers" Harry showed her 2 bunches of the said firework "These are fun to hold. Why don't we invite the Slytherins?" he suggested. "Huh?" she blinked "The Sly… Slytherins? Nice idea. The more the merrier" she said. "Right" the two nodded "We'll tell them on the day itself".

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"Are you coming or what?" Pansy asked him "Potter said we could come if we want to. They're just going to light some fireworks by the lake and then climb to the top of the Astronomy Tower to light the sparklers. They said the fireworks could be seen clearly from up there"

"I don't want to celebrate. I'll stay here" Draco said "What about you Blaise? Are you going?"

"Yeah I am going. I'd like to watch the fireworks. I heard it was the best kind the Weasley twins have created"

"Well, have fun then" he told them and returned to his book. The two headed out and left him in the common room. An hour later, everyone was present by the lake already except for Hermione. "Where's Hermione?" Ginny asked, looking around "It is 11:15pm. I'll go look for her"

"Don't" Harry told her "She'll follow. Don't worry. I think I know where she is"

Hermione made sure no one was around when she sneaked into the Slytherin chambers. She checked her watch. Pansy and Blaise are probably with Harry and the others by the lake. When she reached her destination, she was unsure if she should knock. Raising her fist to knock, she closed her eyes but the door suddenly opened.

He wasn't expecting to see her there so he blinked and stared at her "Granger?"

"Uh…oh hi" she smiled nervously "I just dropped by to invite you for the lighting of fireworks"

"You did? Um…I'm sorry but…I don't want to celebrate…"

"Hmm? I … It's not a celebration exactly. It's for letting everything go. I mean…" she paused. She was finding it difficult to explain it to him. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "It's more like a tradition you do when the year is about to end, to invite good luck and let the bad vibes go"

"Good luck and bad vibes? Oh I get it."

"Good" she breathed, this time smiling out of relief that he understood her "So will you come?"

"I…" he looked back inside the room and back at her. "Do you really insist?"

"Yes! I mean no, not if you don't want to." She shook her head, smiling sheepishly.

"I guess I can come…" he trailed off and stepped outside. He forgot about the book and magazine he was holding but Hermione noticed it. "What are those about?" she questioned him.

"These?" he dropped the magazine and she bent down to pick it up for him. She saw the cover of the magazine when she handed it to him "So you still like this kind of stuff" she eyed the gory cover.

"Yes. It's fascinating actually"

"I see…"

When they reached the top of the Astronomy Tower everyone was there already, standing by the window, watching the fireworks they had lit by the lake. The dark sky was suddenly lighted with different colours, red, blue-green, orange, violet, yellow and green; all emitted by the fireworks. The two approached them and the others faced them "So you arrived" said Harry as he saw who was behind his friend. "It's beautiful" Ginny gushed. Hermione looked at the sky and saw different shapes in the sky. There was a wizard waving a wand, a dragon wagging its large tail and a greeting from the twins which said;

_Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all_

The greeting did not fade but changed colours from red to orange to yellow and back again to red for every 2 minutes. The weather was favoring them since it stopped snowing for that day and the skies cleared up a bit.

"It's time to light the sparklers" Ron announced. He started to pass the sparklers around. Every one had their sparklers lit already so they headed for the window and held it out while watching the fireworks.

"It's really splendid" Pansy commented, the lights reflected in her eyes. The others nodded in agreement.

Hermione and Draco stood by the corner of the window side by side not noticing the others at all. It's like they had a world of their own. Harry noticed this and nudged the one beside him who happened to be Blaise. The two smirked as the semi-bushy haired girl and the blonde head boy, exchanged shy smiles.

His eyes were focused on the sparklers, watching it with secret amusement. But he could not help but feel sad. Even though his friends said he'd always have them, it did not change the fact that he's alone, he no longer considers his Aunt Bella a family. Hermione noticed the sad look in his eyes in spite of the sparklers reflected in it.

"If the snow powder may whiten deep to our hearts, it will cover both our loneliness and return it to the sky"

"Pardon?" he stared at her.

"Sounds familiar doesn't it?" she grinned. He just nodded. "It's a line from the poem you gave me"

"Poem?" he straightened his shoulders "You memorized it?"

"No. I just… remember that line clearly…"

"Cover both our loneliness and return it to the sky, huh?" he looked at the dark sky "So it's a good poem after all"

"Of course it was. I quoted from it, didn't I?"

Ever since that night, the two spent a lot of time together, wandering in the castle or simply hanging out by the lake talking about anything under the sun. Harry did not bother to ask Draco for his answer because he already knew what it was and he's happy for them. Their break ended and the classes resumed. Most of the students were taken aback to see the two hanging out together like the best of friends. Some even suspected they have become more than just friends but they didn't care. It wasn't true anyway. Ginny even interrogated Hermione several times about it. She just told her that they have become "close friends". "Actions speak louder than words" Ginny told her but the other girl just shrugged it off. The matter was left to rest.

A/N: Reviews would be delightful…


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, just the plot.

**Chapter9**

18 months later…

"Darn" she cursed under her breath checking her wrist watch "I'm late again" she slapped her forehead with her left hand. She found her self running towards their meeting place. She was supposed to give him a tour around London and the places she loved like the Trafalgar Square, where they are going to meet. She knew Draco would be mad again, but it wasn't her fault Crookshanks got sick. She had to stay up all night nursing him which caused her to wake up late. Besides, she was planning to give him a really nice tour so he shouldn't complain for waiting. Whatever she had in store for him would be worth the wait. She jogged down the street and made a left turn at the corner. The entrance to the famous square was at sight but she hadn't spotted him yet. He might be inside, she thought as she crossed to the other side of the street. She could already picture the expression of his face "Late again!" he'll hiss in annoyance. Then he'll be nagging her about being late every time they meet up even during the time they made arrangements back during their Hogwarts days.

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"Bloody hell, I can't be late, not today" he muttered through gritted teeth. He threw his black owl inside its cage.

"Armand!" he yelled "Get the pumpkin juice"

"Here it is master" the house elf held a tray with a small pitcher containing pumpkin juice. Draco got it and poured some for the owl. "Always refill his cup with pumpkin juice since it is the only thing he drinks lately" he instructed "He also likes nuts and pour a drop of this by 11 am in his juice, okay?" he gave Armand a tiny bottle with greenish substance in it. He walked over to his bed and grabbed his dark green coat. "Take good care of him, he's my favorite owl and use this coin to contact me" he tossed a galleon over to the house elf "1 is for emergency so don't just use it". He stopped in front of the mirror before heading out and combed his hair with his fingers. She might be late again, he thought smirking at his reflection "Perfect" he whispered, referring to the way he looked. He went down the stairs and opened the door. The weather was being cooperative with their plans for the day. The wind was right and the sun shone brightly. He checked his pocket watch; it was 9:15 already. They were supposed to meet at 8:30 and have brunch together. Draco stepped outside and apparated.

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Hermione arrived looking for Draco. He might be sitting on the benches somewhere in the middle, she thought to herself. There were kids running around and confused nannies trying to run after them. The wind blew past her and she felt a bit chilly so she placed her hands inside the pocket of her brown wool shorts.

"Draco?" she called softly but he wasn't anywhere. She walked a little much further to look for him. Then, a white ferret scurried past her with a little boy at its tail, chasing after it with a small tree branch. She smiled at the sight of the ferret and the little boy until she remembered she was wearing black stockings. She spotted a little run on her stockings just above her ankle-high boots. "No way!" she hissed, rummaging inside her bag for the bottle of clear nail polish she always brought with her. When she finally found it, she headed for the nearest bench to sit on while fixing the run on her stockings. She bent over to apply the polish carefully.

"Hermione?" she heard a familiar voice "Hermione Granger?" it was a guy's voce "Is that you?"

She looked up to see who it was and saw the face she once dreaded to see; Timothy Grey, the guy who broke her heart just because she's a witch. Putting on a fake smile, she stood up to greet him "Oh yes it's me. Hi, Tom" she dropped the bottle inside her bag and zipped it close. She noticed he hadn't changed at all, he was still full of himself. "I knew it" he grinned at her, eyeing her from head to toe. "It's good you have not forgotten me"

"How could I?" she narrowed her eyes a bit.

"Of course you wouldn't. How silly of me" he smirked and peered behind her to see if she was with anyone "So, I heard you graduated from that freak school you went to"

"Yeah I have" she confirmed "Your father told me you're still bumming around, not born for work huh?" she commented with the intention of spiting him since she knew they have a family business. And apparently, his father is uncertain in letting him handle it for fear of losing it the moment his son holds it.

"Not really" he replied haughtily "You know I never like those kinds of things" he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Yeah, I know" she nodded, peering behind him to see if Draco had arrived because if he did, then it would be a good reason to escape from the jerk in front of her.

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He was on the verge of apparating when he remembered he forgot something. He went back to his room where his black owl, Firewhiskey, was perched inside his cage. "C'mon, I just need to get that thing around your…uh…handsome neck" he said. But the owl moved further inside the cage while staring back at him, dumbly. Extending his hand to the owl, he made some sounds Hermione taught him a few weeks ago. According to her, there are certain sounds which attract owls and you won't have a hard time calling its attention. Then the owl stepped forward, little by little, until it reached him. It stared at his face then at his hand then suddenly started pecking his index finger. He pulled his hand back immediately, cursing vehemently. The owl just stared at him angrily as if it was trying to say something. Deciding it'd be best to listen to his pet for a change, he pointed his wand at Firewhikey's throat. He heard a voice which was similar to his "You bastard! How can you name me like this? You disgraced me! Don't you know I'm a pureblood? I was bred to be a pet to purebloods and this is how you repay me? Giving me a name like this? You ingrate piece of a…" he did not give a chance for the owl to finish. He was just too shocked at what he heard from him. He never imagined an owl could curse almost as well as him. He looked at Firewhiskey again who was glaring at him fiercely. He had no idea the owl would hate the name given to him. "Look, you'll just have to bear that name. It's what everyone calls you and it was Hermione who gave it to you, remember? Now, will you please cooperate and give me that thing around your neck, hmm?" His owl seem to have softened up a bit with the mention of the girl's name that it obliged and walked over to him, letting him take whatever it was his owner wanted from him. The moment he got what he needed, he quickly apparated out of the place before there could be more reasons for him to be late. Hermione might be waiting for him already.

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"I'd better get going" she said finally "I need to meet someone. It's nice seeing you here" she was about to walk past him when he stopped her and held her arm back "Are you avoiding me?" he accused.

Pulling her arm away from him, she answered "There's no reason to do that, is there?"

"I'm not sure" he drawled "There might be on your side though…"

Hermione glared at him at him. How can he think I'm still in love with him? She thought resentfully. She wanted to punch his face but decided against it.

"You got it wrong" she said flatly "I just have more important things to do. I told you I need to meet someone"

"Oh really? Like who? One of your freak friends?" he smirked, crossing his arms over his chest and stared down at her. She checked her watch again, the time said it was almost half past nine. She felt slightly alarmed. They should have met an hour ago. It's the first time he's late, she murmured to herself. She knew she needed to get rid of Timothy already so she could go and find Draco "I really need to go now" she told him urgently. She rubbed her chin nervously.

----------

He arrived inside of a phone booth just across the Trafalgar square. He crossed the street and entered to look for Hermione because he knew she might be worried already. He heard some people talking abut sitting on the benches in the middle. Thinking she might be waiting for him there, he went there, walking twice faster than the usual. When he reached the area where the benches were, he immediately spotted Hermione, talking to the man whose back was facing him. She was sweating even if it wasn't hot. He watched a drop of sweat trickle from her forehead to her chin. She was also rubbing her chin which meant she was nervous. This guy might be giving her a hard time, he thought through gritted teeth as he started his way towards them. He took a deep breath before speaking. He remembered a line from a movie they saw together just last month "Hey baby…" he greeted her in his deep voice and approached them.

"Draco, you're here!" she exclaimed. Her eyes lit up. She practically flung her arms around him "What took you so long? I've been looking for you…"

"I'm sorry I was late, Hermione"

"It's alright. You're here now" she grinned.

"Well, Fire…" Timothy interrupted them "Ehem, ehem" the two turned to him "Who's this?" he asked Hermione. Draco was 2 inches taller than him. He stared at the dark brown haired guy. "Who are _you_?" he asked right back narrowing his eyes into slits. "Tom" Hermione managed to say "He's Timothy Grey"

"So this is the Timothy you mentioned before?" he asked her. "Yes" she nodded.

"You know me? Who are you?" he demanded to know.

"Well in that case, forgive me; I forgot to introduce myself." Draco took a step towards him "I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy" he extended his hand to Tom for a handshake. He was aware that there was still question in Tom's eyes so he added "Hermione is my fiancé" He thought it was the perfect way to introduce his self in order to get rid of Tom. Although, they haven't talked about it, he was hoping she wouldn't say anything and just play along.

Her eyes widened when he said she was his fiancée. He's got to be kidding, she thought to herself. They never even talked about such things. Whenever they were asked about the 'true score' between them they would simply say they're friends… _close_ friends to be exact. But of course, their friends knew better than to believe them. It had always been obvious with the way they cared for each other. They're more than just close friends whether they admitted it or not. What are you thinking announcing we're engaged? She asked him inside her head as if the question would reach him. She decided not to react and just played along.

"Fiancée?" Tom repeated, taken aback. He stared at them stupidly, as if he was expecting one of them would say it was just a joke but no one did. The 'couple' stared back at him half smiling.

He did not expect she would move on quickly and find a fiancée. Only two years have passed since the time he broke up with her. He was able to get over his shock quickly and replaced the expression on his face with a smirk "I never expected you'd find someone quickly. Actually, I wasn't expecting you'd ever find anyone" he remarked with much malice in his voice and Draco did not like it. His jaw tightened and his fists were clenched as if ready to either punch or hex Timothy. He could not believe some narrow minded scumbag would dare talk to Hermione that way. He wanted to punch the hell out of him, he wanted to say something in her defense but she held on to his arm to stop him from doing anything "Don't" she whispered and faced Tom "It has been long time ago. I deserve whatever I have right now. I was able to find someone I truly love and loves me back too" he opened his mouth to speak but she went on "So who's your girlfriend or… wife? Only two years have passed, I bet you found one right after me"

"I'm just dating someone. I have learned to dislike commitments". He wondered if she was ever hurt with what happened in the past because she seems satisfied despite of it all. She kept an important secret to him and he wanted her to feel as bad as he felt at that time. "I made sure she's different from you"

"Hermione…" Draco whispered "I can't let this go anymore. Just leave him"

"Are you intimidated?" Tom asked him in a mocking tone of voice. The other guy stopped in his tracks and turned to face him "You don't even know me so don't go claiming I'm intimidated because you might regret it in just a couple of seconds"

"Are you trying to scare me?" Tom sneered.

"Why? Are you scared?" he smirked and grabbed Hermione's hand "Let's go" he told her firmly, tugging on to her hand. "But…" she tried to say.

"Timothy!" A girl called from behind him. Hermione and Draco stopped and turned around to see who it was.

"Oh there she is" Tom smirked. A girl came running towards them, wearing a sundress. She waved at him and he waved back "She's Dianne. Dianne Bottle" he introduced proudly. He pulled the girl closer by her waist when she reached them. Her eyes widened at the sight of Draco and Hermione.

"Dianne Bottle?" Hermione repeated eyeing her with interest. Draco too recognized her "small world" he said casually "So she's the one you've been dating? And you made sure she's different from Hermione?"

"What do you mean by that?" he demanded all of a sudden anxious with the way the two reacted.

"You still remember me, do you?" he addressed the girl instead. Dianne's face was turning bright red already "Uh…um…I" she shook her head.

"You don't?" Hermione's brows rose "Hogwarts, remember?" she smirked.

"I see you're always attracted to witches" Draco commented with a snort.

"What? Are…are you a witch too?" he faced her.

"I…i… uh… I am" she admitted, staring at the floor "But you've got to listen to me" she held on to his arm. But just like what he did to Hermione, he yanked his arm away "No way!" he yelled angrily "Not again!" he walked away and faced them again "What do you freaks want from me? And you" he pointed a finger at Dianne "You, stay away from me!" and he continued to walk away. The blonde haired witch got really angry at what he said. She ran after him and held his right arm tightly then apparated out of the square and out.

They watched the two disappear from their sights "Serves him right, I guess" she sighed.

"I wonder what she'll do to him" he smirked. Hermione faced him, gazing up at his face "You were so late" she said quietly "I was really worried" she tucked her hair behind her ear on both sides.

"I'm sorry about that. Firewhiskey was feeling bad when I woke up this morning, I had a hard time with him" he explained. "Are you okay?" he placed a hand n her shoulder. They started to walk out of the square.

"Yes, I'm alright. I was a bit late myself actually. Crookshanks got sick last night and I had to take care of him the whole night. That's why I woke up late but he's okay now. Turns out he ate too much salmon during dinner" she laughed a bit "How's your owl?"

"Armand is taking care of him. I already gave instructions. And you know what?" he paused for effect "I found out Firewhiskey despises his name and that he curses so fluently… for an owl, that is" he showed her the peck mark on his finger "He even bit me"

"Wow, I never thought he'd be so much like you" she teased "And…" she paused and stared in to his grey eyes "What was that all about?" she demanded out of the blue, slapping the back of his head.

"Ouch!" he rubbed his head "That really hurt! What do you mean?"

"Everything you did. You approached calling me 'baby' and you even said we're engaged"

"You played along didn't you? And I think 'baby' sounded cool"

"Sound cool? That's what you thought? It was embarrassing! Just like when I had that fight with my parents in the Hospital Wing" she stomped her right foot like a little girl, mumbling "embarrassing" her self.

"It was? It didn't look like it embarrassed you at all" he shrugged nonchalantly "You actually enjoyed playing along"

"Me? I just played along because you started it and I didn't want to humiliate you…" she looked away from him.

"Are you sure it was just that?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed, louder than she had intended to "I'm sure"

"Are you really sure?" he leaned, his face close to hers. "What if we do it for real?"

"Pardon?"

"Get engaged for real?"

"Are you kidding me, hmm? Draco Malfoy?"

"Is this a joking matter?"

"No… But we never talked about this before and here you are asking me that? You've got to be kidding me" she rolled her eyes and forced a laugh which sounded awful.

"We are now" he pointed out and reached for her hand. He got something from his pocket and placed it in her palm. It was a necklace "Here. Do you still think I'm joking?"

"What's this?" she asked him. "Just take a look at it, will you?"

Hermione opened her palm slowly and saw a necklace lying there. She observed it carefully and saw what he had intended to give her all along "Merlin, you really are serious" she breathed and lifted her eyes to his. She did not say anything and wrapped her arms around his neck, the necklace which had an engagement ring as its pendant, tightly in her hand. Then, she pulled his head down to hers and kissed him passionately. They were standing by the entrance of the square so the stares from people around couldn't be avoided.

"How's Pansy?" she asked him. He was holding her hand while heading for the restaurant where they are going to eat their brunch. He wasn't expecting her question. "Pansy? Pansy Parkinson?" he asked her and she nodded.

"Yes. Is she a model now?"

"How did you know about that?"

"We…just had a girl talk" she grinned at him mysteriously.

He stared at her suspiciously but answered her question "She's modeling for Witches Today and she's going to model for a famous muggle magazine…fashion magazine. How about Ron's business, then?"

"Yeah, he is doing fine. He's off to France, I think"

"Good for him… Hermione,"

"Hmm?" she looked at him.

"You were right… I really thought I won't be accepted as an Auror but they welcomed me warmly. Thanks"

"You don't have to thank me. You achieved it on your own" she flashed him a smile as he held the door to the BZ bistro where they were going to have their brunch. Blaise welcomed them at the entrance since the place is his. It just opened a few weeks ago. It was his second branch. The first was located at Hogsmeade. And right next to it, was a shop named Honeyed Ducks, owned by none other than the infamous duo, Greggory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. If you're wondering what job Hermione has, well, she became a part time writer for The Prophet and the Head of the Research and Development team for the Unsolved Cases of the Ministry of Magic.

A/N:

Reviews would be much appreciated…

Finally it's complete! Thank you so much for reading and following my story, even if it always takes me a long time to update. I realized my mistake when I read my work again and when you guys pointed it out to me. I would like to change it, but I'm too lazy to do it. Anyway, thank you for reminding. I'll keep it in mind for my future fics.


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